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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. clip — a video
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. drill — army training
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. drill — the tool
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wound — an injury
  16. drill — a practice
  17. capital — a city
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. wound — an injury
  22. clip — to cut
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fan — a supporter

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