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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 116 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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. clip — to cut
  6. can — to be able to
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. rock — music
  10. clip — a video
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. clip — for paper
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rock — a stone
  18. scale — size or range
  19. file — a line of people
  20. can — a tin
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. can — a tin

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