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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. clip — to cut
  4. land — a country
  5. spell — a short time
  6. clip — for paper
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. land — ground
  9. clip — a video
  10. spell — magic
  11. firm — decided
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. firm — a company
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. spell — letters
  17. land — to come down
  18. perch — the fish
  19. plane — a tool
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. season — of the year
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. firm — steady
  24. season — in sport

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