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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mine — for digging
  3. net — for catching
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. net — after costs
  12. perch — the fish
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. clip — to cut
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. net — in sport
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — hasty
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. clip — a video
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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