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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chest — of your body
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. clip — a video
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chest — of your body
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bark — to shout
  10. season — of the year
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. chest — a box
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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