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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rock — music
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. land — ground
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — a stone
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. clip — to cut
  17. kick — in football
  18. perch — the fish
  19. clip — a video
  20. land — a country
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. fork — in a road
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. land — to come down

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