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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 116 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: hand · perch · wind · trunk · squash · object · clip · lean

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. object — to protest
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. squash — to crush
  10. hand — in cards
  11. lean — to bend
  12. wind — moving air
  13. clip — for paper
  14. squash — the sport
  15. clip — to cut
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. wind — moving air
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. lean — thin
  20. clip — a video
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — an aim
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. perch — the fish

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