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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. clip — a video
  4. perch — the fish
  5. clip — to cut
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. cell — in biology
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wound — an injury
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. firm — decided
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — a company
  16. clip — for paper
  17. dip — to sink
  18. content — the amount
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cell — a phone
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. content — happy
  24. wound — an injury

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