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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. can — to be able to
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. clip — to cut
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. can — a tin
  13. snap — to click
  14. clip — for paper
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. clip — a video
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. wind — moving air
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. land — a country
  22. wind — moving air
  23. land — to come down
  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