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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. clip — a video
  3. perch — the fish
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chair — a leader
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. net — in sport
  9. ground — the earth
  10. suit — to fit
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. net — for catching
  13. ground — crushed
  14. face — part of the head
  15. suit — clothes
  16. suit — in cards
  17. bore — to tire
  18. face — to confront
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. face — to point toward
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. net — after costs

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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