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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. row — to paddle
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ball — a great time
  11. lean — to bend
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. row — a line
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. perch — the fish
  20. ball — a dance
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pit — in a race
  23. lean — thin
  24. kick — in football

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