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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. chest — a box
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pop — soda
  5. clip — a video
  6. rule — a law
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. cap — a hat
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cap — a lid
  12. pop — to visit
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. perch — the fish
  17. pop — music
  18. clip — to cut
  19. chest — of your body
  20. tube — the underground
  21. foot — a measure
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. cap — of ice

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