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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. drill — the tool
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. drill — army training
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. club — for golf
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a grade
  14. cell — in biology
  15. perch — the fish
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. club — for dancing
  18. club — a group
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mark — a trace
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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