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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · season · perch · clip · jam · squash · row · branch

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. season — in sport
  3. squash — the sport
  4. branch — a division
  5. perch — the fish
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cold — not warm
  12. row — a line
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. season — of the year
  19. squash — to crush
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. clip — to cut
  23. branch — of a bank
  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