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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: object · season · perch · temple · clip · wind · rest · cap

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. rest — what's left
  6. object — an aim
  7. cap — of ice
  8. perch — the fish
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. rest — a break
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wind — moving air
  15. object — to protest
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. clip — to cut
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. clip — a video
  20. season — in sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. object — a thing
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. season — of the year

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