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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
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: clip · chip · game · perch · ball · press · fall · mine

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. perch — the fish
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chip — for betting
  7. mine — for digging
  8. fall — to drop
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — to push
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. ball — a great time
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. game — wild animals
  16. press — newspapers
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. chip — to eat
  21. ball — a dance
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. game — a match
  24. chip — in a computer

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