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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. last — finally
  4. clip — a video
  5. fine — high quality
  6. spell — magic
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. last — final
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. last — to go on
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fine — all right
  16. perch — the fish
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. prune — to trim
  21. clip — for paper
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cabinet — ministers

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