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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pass — a permit
  5. fork — in a road
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — the fish
  10. swing — music
  11. wake — a trail
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. swing — in golf
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. swing — to play on
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. fork — a garden tool

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