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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. file — a line of people
  3. root — the cause
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. court — for sport
  7. ball — a dance
  8. court — of law
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. root — of a word
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. kick — in football
  13. clip — to cut
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. present — a gift
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there
  19. root — of a plant
  20. file — a document
  21. ball — a great time
  22. file — a tool
  23. court — of a king
  24. kick — a thrill

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