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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. land — to come down
  3. swing — to play on
  4. object — a thing
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. perch — the fish
  7. object — an aim
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. land — a country
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. swing — in golf
  16. clip — to cut
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. hand — in cards
  20. swing — music
  21. object — to protest
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. land — ground
  24. hand — help

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