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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. fall — to drop
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bore — to tire
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fall — the season
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bore — to drill
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fall — to drop

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