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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: perch · clip · pit · march · mark · fork · stem · capital

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pit — in a race
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. clip — for paper
  6. capital — money
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. march — music
  11. clip — a video
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. march — the month
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. perch — the fish
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. march — the month

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