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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: clip · safe · capital · drill · perch · calf · rock · prune

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. prune — to trim
  3. drill — a practice
  4. capital — money
  5. perch — the fish
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. drill — army training
  8. capital — a city
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. clip — a video
  13. rock — a stone
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. prune — to trim
  17. drill — the tool
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rock — music
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. safe — out of danger

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