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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. mug — a face
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. clip — a video
  10. chest — of your body
  11. perch — the fish
  12. mug — a cup
  13. branch — a division
  14. chest — a box
  15. clip — for paper
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. mug — to rob
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — a hole
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. clip — to cut
  24. kick — in football

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