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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 120 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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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: perch · rule · wind · clip · leaves · chair · pit · field

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. perch — the fish
  3. clip — a video
  4. field — for sport
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pit — a hole
  10. rule — a law
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pit — in a race
  15. chair — a leader
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rule — government
  21. wind — moving air
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. clip — for paper

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