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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: row · temple · key · bat · content · rock · clip · perch

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. row — a line
  5. clip — a video
  6. key — for a lock
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bat — the animal
  11. key — the most important part
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. clip — for paper
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. rock — music
  21. row — to paddle
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. key — in music

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