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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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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: staff · perch · current · game · drill · safe · branch · clip

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. clip — a video
  3. game — a match
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. staff — a stick
  7. perch — the fish
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. current — of water
  11. clip — to cut
  12. current — electric
  13. drill — a practice
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. drill — army training
  17. clip — for paper
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. staff — employees
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. staff — employees
  24. current — happening now

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