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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bulb — for light
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pit — in a race
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bulb — for light
  14. capital — money
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. chair — a leader
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pit — a hole
  24. perch — the fish

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