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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. perch — the fish
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. march — the month
  5. clip — a video
  6. march — the month
  7. staff — a stick
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. staff — employees
  11. march — music
  12. row — a line
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. row — to paddle
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. clip — to cut
  24. perch — for a bird

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