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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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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: bat · perch · chip · hand · row · sharp · clip · ruler

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. clip — a video
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. perch — the fish
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bat — the animal
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — for betting
  13. row — a line
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. hand — in cards
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bat — for baseball

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