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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. perch — the fish
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. file — a line of people
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. clip — for paper
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. press — a publisher
  15. branch — a division
  16. clip — to cut
  17. press — to push
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. press — newspapers
  23. clip — a video
  24. wake — a trail

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