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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. staff — employees
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pop — soda
  6. sharp — clever
  7. fall — to drop
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pop — music
  11. staff — employees
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bear — the animal
  16. mark — a grade
  17. bear — the animal
  18. clip — a video
  19. perch — the fish
  20. clip — for paper
  21. staff — a stick
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pop — to visit

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