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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · tube · jam · perch · court · bat · craft · press

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. craft — a skill
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. bat — the animal
  6. clip — a video
  7. tube — the underground
  8. perch — the fish
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. craft — boats
  12. press — to push
  13. clip — for paper
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. court — of a king
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. press — a publisher
  18. tube — a container
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. press — newspapers
  22. clip — to cut
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. craft — a handicraft

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