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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: band · file · perch · cabinet · season · hand · clip · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. band — a music group
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. hand — help
  5. season — of the year
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. season — in sport
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. clip — for paper
  12. file — a tool
  13. lean — thin
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. clip — a video
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. lean — to bend
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. hand — in cards
  23. band — a ring
  24. clip — to cut

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