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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. clip — for paper
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. branch — a division
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. march — music
  8. mug — a cup
  9. march — the month
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. perch — the fish
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. clip — a video
  17. march — the month
  18. mug — a face
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. scale — in music
  22. clip — to cut
  23. scale — size or range
  24. straw — a straw man

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