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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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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: ground · clip · mark · lie · club · pass · perch · shower

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. club — for golf
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. shower — rain
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. clip — for paper
  11. club — for dancing
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. ground — a position
  15. mark — a trace
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. mark — a grade
  19. clip — a video
  20. club — a group
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pass — a permit
  24. perch — the fish

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