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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pit — a hole
  3. row — a line
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bat — the animal
  6. fork — in a road
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. suit — to fit
  10. pit — in a race
  11. row — to paddle
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. suit — clothes
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. suit — in cards
  17. wind — moving air
  18. clip — a video
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wind — moving air
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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