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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. rock — a stone
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. staff — employees
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. fall — the season
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. perch — the fish
  13. rock — music
  14. clip — a video
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. staff — a stick
  18. fall — to drop
  19. kick — in football
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. staff — employees
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. clip — to cut

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