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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. land — a country
  3. mate — to breed
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bark — to shout
  8. clip — for paper
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bass — low music
  13. clip — to cut
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. season — of the year
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. season — in sport
  22. clip — a video
  23. bass — the fish
  24. perch — the fish

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