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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 116 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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. stem — to come from
  4. clip — for paper
  5. present — the time now
  6. squash — the sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. present — a gift
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. season — in sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. present — there
  17. clip — a video
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mark — a grade
  20. clip — to cut
  21. season — of the year
  22. bear — the animal
  23. squash — to crush
  24. stem — of a plant

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