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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. perch — the fish
  3. clip — a video
  4. cap — of ice
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. court — of a king
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. court — of law
  10. lean — to bend
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. clip — to cut
  13. tube — a container
  14. lean — thin
  15. snap — to click
  16. ground — a position
  17. cap — a lid
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. clip — for paper
  21. tube — the underground
  22. ground — crushed
  23. cap — a hat
  24. ground — the earth

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