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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. drill — the tool
  3. row — a line
  4. clip — to cut
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. band — a ring
  7. clip — a video
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. perch — the fish
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. clip — for paper
  14. drill — a practice
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. row — to paddle
  17. drill — army training
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. band — a music group

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