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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. root — the cause
  5. clip — a video
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hand — help
  8. root — of a plant
  9. perch — the fish
  10. staff — a stick
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. hand — in cards
  15. staff — employees
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. root — of a word
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. clip — to cut
  23. chest — of your body
  24. staff — employees

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