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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. field — a subject
  7. mug — a face
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. staff — employees
  10. mug — a cup
  11. clip — for paper
  12. band — a ring
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bank — for money
  15. bat — the animal
  16. field — farmland
  17. band — a music group
  18. clip — a video
  19. field — for sport
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. staff — employees
  22. bank — for money
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. staff — a stick

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