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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. suit — clothes
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ground — the earth
  8. suit — to fit
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. ground — crushed
  11. last — final
  12. suit — in cards
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. branch — a division
  16. last — finally
  17. clip — a video
  18. squash — the sport
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. perch — the fish
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. last — to go on
  23. squash — to crush
  24. ground — a position

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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