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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. land — ground
  4. march — music
  5. land — a country
  6. clip — for paper
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. land — to come down
  9. clip — to cut
  10. march — the month
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. object — a thing
  17. perch — the fish
  18. march — the month
  19. object — to protest
  20. object — an aim
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. clip — a video
  24. dip — a sauce

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