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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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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. net — in sport
  3. march — the month
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. cold — an illness
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. file — a document
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. clip — for paper
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bank — for money
  16. march — music
  17. cold — not warm
  18. perch — the fish
  19. net — after costs
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bank — for money
  22. net — for catching
  23. clip — a video
  24. march — the month

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