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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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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: clip · scale · wind · chair · roll · present · racket · perch

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wind — moving air
  4. present — the time now
  5. roll — a list
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. present — a gift
  11. clip — to cut
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a cake
  14. present — there
  15. clip — a video
  16. scale — in music
  17. chair — a leader
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. perch — the fish
  24. chair — a professorship

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