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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · land · deal · perch · saw · club

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. deal — to handle
  5. perch — the fish
  6. clip — to cut
  7. club — for dancing
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — a country
  10. club — for golf
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. saw — the tool
  15. land — ground
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. club — a group

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