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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.

Make a worksheet

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: clip · rush · key · prune · perch · fall · chair · game

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. clip — for paper
  4. fall — to drop
  5. perch — the fish
  6. game — a match
  7. fall — the season
  8. clip — a video
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. prune — to trim
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rush — hurry
  14. fall — to drop
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — in music
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. prune — to trim

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