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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. perch — the fish
  4. craft — boats
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. date — the fruit
  8. drill — a practice
  9. stock — shares
  10. cap — a hat
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. stock — goods
  13. chair — a leader
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. drill — the tool
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cap — a lid
  18. drill — army training
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. clip — a video
  22. cap — of ice
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — a skill

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