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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.

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: rock · clip · ruler · march · perch · cold · track · pitcher

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. march — music
  5. track — to keep track
  6. clip — to cut
  7. track — a path
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. track — a song
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. march — the month
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — music
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. perch — the fish
  16. march — the month
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. clip — a video
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cold — the Cold War

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