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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. season — in sport
  3. spell — a short time
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. season — of the year
  10. perch — the fish
  11. spell — letters
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. clip — a video
  14. can — to be able to
  15. field — for sport
  16. can — a tin
  17. foot — a measure
  18. spell — magic
  19. field — a subject
  20. can — a tin
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. field — farmland
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pitcher — a jug

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