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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 120 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: clip · bark · perch · kick · vault · current · shower · prune

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. current — of water
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. clip — to cut
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. vault — a safe
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. current — electric
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. kick — in football
  16. perch — the fish
  17. shower — to wash
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. current — happening now
  21. shower — rain
  22. bark — to shout
  23. prune — to trim
  24. clip — for paper

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