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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 120 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: fine · clip · present · key · perch · stick · chest · march

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. key — for a lock
  3. clip — to cut
  4. key — the most important part
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. key — in music
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. fine — high quality
  10. chest — a box
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fine — all right
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — a gift
  17. march — the month
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. march — music
  20. perch — the fish
  21. clip — a video
  22. present — there
  23. chest — of your body
  24. march — the month

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