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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: perch · club · march · hide · ground · lean · clip · game

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. lean — thin
  2. march — the month
  3. ground — the earth
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. clip — to cut
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. club — for golf
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. march — the month
  12. lean — to bend
  13. ground — a position
  14. game — a match
  15. club — for dancing
  16. march — music
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. club — a group
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. game — wild animals
  21. clip — a video
  22. perch — the fish
  23. ground — crushed
  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