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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: perch · land · clip · ball · ground · rash · pass · wind

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. ground — a position
  3. ball — a great time
  4. land — to come down
  5. ground — crushed
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. perch — the fish
  10. clip — a video
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. ball — a dance
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pass — a permit
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rash — a series
  19. ground — the earth
  20. land — ground
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wind — moving air
  23. land — a country
  24. ball — a round shape

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