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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. clip — for paper
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. can — a tin
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. clip — a video
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. can — to be able to
  18. wax — to grow
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. can — a tin

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