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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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Word bank
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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: snap · coach · clip · mouse · straw · court · perch · game

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. clip — for paper
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. court — for sport
  5. perch — the fish
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. game — wild animals
  12. court — of law
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. game — a match
  18. clip — a video
  19. snap — to click
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. court — of a king
  24. mouse — for a computer

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