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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. pop — to visit
  2. pop — soda
  3. bat — the animal
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. perch — the fish
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. ground — crushed
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pop — music
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. ground — a position
  23. calf — a young animal
  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