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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. clip — a video
  3. hand — in cards
  4. pop — music
  5. hand — help
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. pop — soda
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pop — to visit
  12. season — in sport
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. season — of the year
  15. clip — to cut
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. tube — the underground
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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