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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. march — music
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. pound — a weight
  10. kid — child
  11. row — a line
  12. stock — shares
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. clip — to cut
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. stock — goods
  18. row — to paddle
  19. clip — for paper
  20. march — the month
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. perch — the fish
  23. clip — a video
  24. march — the month

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