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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 120 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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. march — the month
  5. clip — to cut
  6. march — music
  7. clip — a video
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — the month
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. perch — the fish
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wind — to turn a key

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