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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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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bank — for money
  4. can — to be able to
  5. clip — a video
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bank — of a river
  11. file — a document
  12. perch — the fish
  13. court — of law
  14. can — a tin
  15. court — of a king
  16. can — a tin
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bank — for money
  19. file — a tool
  20. court — for sport
  21. clip — for paper
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. shower — rain
  24. perch — for a bird

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