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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. suit — in cards
  3. pound — a weight
  4. suit — clothes
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. clip — to cut
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. race — a contest
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. clip — a video
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. suit — to fit
  21. race — the arms race
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. race — humankind

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