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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.

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: march · mug · clip · perch · wound · craft · row · club

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. march — music
  3. clip — for paper
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. club — for dancing
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. craft — a skill
  11. row — a line
  12. march — the month
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mug — a cup
  16. perch — the fish
  17. march — the month
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — to rob
  20. club — for golf
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. club — a group
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. row — to paddle

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