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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. perch — the fish
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. dip — to sink
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. clip — a video
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wound — an injury
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. temple — side of the head

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