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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wake — a trail
  3. row — a line
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. clip — a video
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. season — in sport
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. row — to paddle
  18. season — of the year
  19. saw — the tool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. saw — the tool
  23. perch — the fish
  24. racket — for tennis

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