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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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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: trunk · chair · last · ground · perch · mark · clip · present

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. present — there
  4. ground — the earth
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. chair — a leader
  7. clip — a video
  8. last — to go on
  9. ground — crushed
  10. mark — a trace
  11. last — final
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. last — finally
  15. mark — a grade
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. present — a gift
  19. ground — a position
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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