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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: wound · rest · season · straw · clip · charge · firm · perch

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. firm — steady
  3. season — of the year
  4. firm — decided
  5. charge — a price
  6. rest — a break
  7. wound — an injury
  8. season — in sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. charge — electricity
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. firm — a company
  14. charge — in control
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. clip — to cut
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. clip — for paper
  22. perch — the fish
  23. wound — an injury
  24. clip — a video

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