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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mate — a partner
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. chip — for betting
  8. fall — the season
  9. pitch — completely
  10. clip — to cut
  11. perch — the fish
  12. mate — to breed
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. clip — a video
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mate — a friend
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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