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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: nail · ground · wound · clip · sharp · perch · leaves · root

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. ground — the earth
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. clip — for paper
  12. perch — the fish
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. sharp — clever
  17. root — of a word
  18. ground — a position
  19. wound — an injury
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ground — crushed

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