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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. perch — the fish
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cap — a hat
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. fall — to drop
  17. clip — for paper
  18. kick — in football
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. clip — a video
  21. cap — of ice
  22. fall — the season
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. fall — to drop

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