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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. clip — to cut
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bear — the animal
  7. land — a country
  8. bass — the fish
  9. perch — the fish
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pit — a hole
  13. land — ground
  14. bear — the animal
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. pit — in a race
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. clip — a video
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bass — low music
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — the bottom

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