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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. net — after costs
  3. clip — to cut
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. clip — for paper
  9. perch — the fish
  10. spring — of water
  11. ball — a great time
  12. clip — a video
  13. ball — a dance
  14. net — for catching
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. craft — a skill
  17. season — of the year
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. season — in sport
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. spring — the season
  22. craft — boats
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. net — 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