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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. perch — the fish
  3. clip — a video
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pop — music
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. press — a publisher
  11. pop — to visit
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. content — happy
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. craft — a skill
  18. press — newspapers
  19. pop — soda
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. press — to push
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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