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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. season — of the year
  3. squash — to crush
  4. season — in sport
  5. perch — the fish
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. squash — the sport
  9. track — a song
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. clip — a video
  14. file — a line of people
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. kick — in football
  20. file — a document
  21. clip — for paper
  22. track — to keep track
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. track — a path

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