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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cap — of ice
  5. spell — letters
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. swing — music
  9. cap — a lid
  10. mug — to rob
  11. spell — magic
  12. cap — a hat
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — to cut
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mug — a face
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. spell — a short time
  23. mug — a cup
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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