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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. clip — for paper
  3. squash — to crush
  4. swing — to play on
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bank — for money
  7. saw — the tool
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bank — for money
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bear — the animal
  15. saw — the tool
  16. clip — a video
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. swing — music
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bank — of a river
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. clip — to cut
  23. swing — in golf
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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