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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. row — a line
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. clip — for paper
  6. march — the month
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. perch — the fish
  9. branch — a division
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. march — music
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — a permit
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  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