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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a signal
  8. season — of the year
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. land — ground
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. land — to come down
  19. clip — for paper
  20. season — in sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. cue — a hint
  23. land — a country
  24. perch — for a bird

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