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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.

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: game · tube · lean · clip · perch · hand · present · pound

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pound — a weight
  5. clip — a video
  6. perch — the fish
  7. clip — for paper
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. game — a match
  10. tube — a container
  11. present — the time now
  12. hand — in cards
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. clip — to cut
  15. present — a gift
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. present — there
  18. lean — thin
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. tube — the underground
  23. lean — to bend
  24. hand — help

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