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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. clip — a video
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. lean — to bend
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. perch — the fish
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. clip — to cut

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