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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. perch — the fish
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. clip — to cut
  7. scale — size or range
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. clip — a video
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — to get on
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. scale — in music
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. wake — a trail
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. perch — for a bird

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