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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. game — a match
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. march — the month
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. march — the month
  14. rule — government
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. rule — a law
  19. clip — for paper
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. march — music
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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