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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. cell — a phone
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. clip — a video
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. clip — to cut
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — a tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — to drill
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. bore — gave birth

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