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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: shower · perch · sharp · stick · clip · board · arm · hand

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. clip — for paper
  4. hand — in cards
  5. shower — to wash
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. perch — the fish
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. clip — to cut
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. sharp — clever
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. board — a committee
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. clip — a video

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