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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: perch · tear · bowl · clip · stick · hide · charge · game

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. clip — for paper
  4. charge — electricity
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. game — wild animals
  10. charge — a price
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. perch — the fish
  13. clip — to cut
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. clip — a video
  19. charge — in control
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. hide — to keep secret

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