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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 116 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. clip — a video
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cell — a phone
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. pitch — completely
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cell — in biology
  21. perch — the fish
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cell — in a prison

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