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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. last — final
  3. perch — the fish
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. cap — a lid
  7. last — to go on
  8. cap — a hat
  9. court — of a king
  10. saw — the tool
  11. court — of law
  12. mate — to breed
  13. cap — of ice
  14. clip — a video
  15. bulb — for light
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bulb — for light
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. court — for sport
  22. last — finally
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — a friend

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