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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 120 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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. clip — for paper
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bark — to shout
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mate — a friend
  13. perch — the fish
  14. lean — to bend
  15. mate — a partner
  16. kid — child
  17. mate — to breed
  18. lean — thin
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. clip — a video

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