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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 · key · present · snap · cell · craft · shower · clip

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. clip — for paper
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. shower — to wash
  6. key — the most important part
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. present — a gift
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cell — a phone
  12. key — in music
  13. snap — to click
  14. clip — to cut
  15. present — there
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. perch — the fish
  18. craft — boats
  19. cell — in biology
  20. clip — a video
  21. present — the time now
  22. key — for a lock
  23. shower — rain
  24. craft — a skill

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