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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 120 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: cap · clip · rash · perch · lie · rest · kick · club

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. club — for golf
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. club — for dancing
  5. rest — what's left
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cap — a lid
  8. rest — what's left
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. rash — a series
  12. cap — a hat
  13. rest — a break
  14. cap — of ice
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. kick — in football
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. club — a group
  22. perch — the fish
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. clip — for paper

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