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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — all right
  6. snap — to click
  7. mate — a partner
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mate — a friend
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. clip — a video
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. perch — the fish
  22. mate — to breed
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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