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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cue — a signal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bark — to shout
  12. clip — a video
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wake — a trail
  17. cue — a hint
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cue — for pool
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. nail — for a hammer

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