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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. hand — in cards
  6. cap — of ice
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cap — a lid
  11. clip — for paper
  12. face — to point toward
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cap — a hat
  15. clip — a video
  16. face — part of the head
  17. hand — help
  18. tube — a container
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. perch — the fish
  21. face — to confront
  22. tube — the underground
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. coach — a trainer

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