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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. clip — to cut
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. row — a line
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. row — to paddle
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. drill — army training
  10. deal — to handle
  11. drill — a practice
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. drill — the tool
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. clip — a video

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