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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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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: band · fork · clip · kick · ground · perch · lean · root

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — in football
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. band — a music group
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. band — a ring
  15. fork — in a road
  16. perch — the fish
  17. root — of a word
  18. ground — the earth
  19. clip — a video
  20. lean — thin
  21. clip — to cut
  22. lean — to bend
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — the cause

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