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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 124 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. march — the month
  3. perch — the fish
  4. key — the most important part
  5. clip — a video
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wind — moving air
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. object — an aim
  11. key — in music
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. object — a thing
  14. key — for a lock
  15. object — to protest
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. wind — moving air
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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