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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. roll — a list
  3. perch — the fish
  4. kick — in football
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wax — to grow
  7. clip — for paper
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. content — happy
  11. clip — a video
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. content — the amount
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. roll — a cake
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. toast — bread

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