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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · rash · trunk · clip · perch · saw · cold · bank

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. saw — the tool
  4. field — a subject
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. field — farmland
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — a series
  10. bank — for money
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bank — for money
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. saw — the tool
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. field — for sport
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bank — of a river
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. clip — a video

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