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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: racket · ground · wind · toast · prune · fork · clip · perch

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. toast — bread
  10. perch — the fish
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. ground — a position
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. wind — moving air
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. ground — the earth
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. wind — moving air

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