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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. clip — to cut
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bore — to drill
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. fork — in a road
  11. clip — a video
  12. perch — the fish
  13. kid — to tease
  14. charge — electricity
  15. content — happy
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. charge — a price
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bore — to tire
  22. content — the amount
  23. kid — child
  24. charge — in control

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