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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pound — a weight
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. clip — to cut
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. perch — the fish
  11. kid — to tease
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pass — a permit
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com