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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. suit — in cards
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. suit — to fit
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. chest — a box
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. dip — to sink
  13. suit — clothes
  14. wake — a trail
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. clip — for paper
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — a video
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bat — the animal
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bat — for baseball

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