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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. net — after costs
  8. clip — a video
  9. net — in sport
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. season — in sport
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. season — of the year
  23. net — for catching
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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