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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 120 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. perch — the fish
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stem — to come from
  6. chip — for betting
  7. suit — clothes
  8. clip — for paper
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — not warm
  11. suit — in cards
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. suit — to fit
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. clip — a video
  24. stem — a stem cell

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