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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. perch — the fish
  3. charge — a price
  4. clip — a video
  5. firm — steady
  6. lean — to bend
  7. row — a line
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. charge — electricity
  11. root — of a word
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. charge — in control
  15. firm — a company
  16. row — to paddle
  17. root — the cause
  18. firm — decided
  19. lean — thin
  20. bulb — for light
  21. clip — to cut
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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