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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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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: bay · fork · clip · degree · coach · perch · mouse · mine

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. degree — temperature
  8. clip — for paper
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mine — for digging
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. degree — from a university
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. clip — a video
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. perch — the fish
  23. degree — an amount
  24. coach — a trainer

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