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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bear — the animal
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. clip — to cut
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. court — of law
  9. mark — a grade
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wind — moving air
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. clip — a video
  16. court — for sport
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wind — moving air
  22. perch — the fish
  23. court — of a king
  24. perch — for a bird

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