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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. file — a line of people
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. file — a tool
  14. capital — a city
  15. clip — a video
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. capital — money
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. perch — the fish
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. clip — for paper
  23. file — a document
  24. safe — a strongbox

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