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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 124 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. mug — to rob
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. sharp — clever
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. kid — child
  20. clip — for paper
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mug — a face
  23. mug — a cup
  24. perch — for a bird

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