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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. perch — the fish
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. tube — the underground
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. race — a contest
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bear — the animal
  14. race — the arms race
  15. lie — to recline
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bear — the animal
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. tube — a container
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. race — humankind
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chest — of your body

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