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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wake — a trail
  4. perch — the fish
  5. chip — for betting
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. lean — to bend
  8. clip — for paper
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. lean — thin
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. scale — in music
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. chip — to eat
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. chip — in a computer

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