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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. stock — goods
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bass — low music
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mine — for digging
  11. dip — to sink
  12. wax — to grow
  13. stock — shares
  14. bass — the fish
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. clip — a video
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. perch — the fish
  24. dip — a sauce

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