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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 116 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: tear · cap · prune · pass · clip · bass · fan · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cap — a lid
  3. clip — for paper
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cap — of ice
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. tear — to rip
  9. prune — to trim
  10. perch — the fish
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — a permit
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bass — the fish
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bass — low music
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tear — from crying
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tear — from crying
  21. clip — a video
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bass — the instrument

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