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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. clip — a video
  5. last — final
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — to drill
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. degree — temperature
  11. last — to go on
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mate — to breed
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. foot — a measure
  18. craft — a skill
  19. clip — for paper
  20. craft — boats
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. last — finally

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