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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: chest · perch · staff · clip · mouse · firm · shower · field

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chest — a box
  3. shower — rain
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. field — for sport
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. clip — to cut
  8. perch — the fish
  9. chest — of your body
  10. firm — decided
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. firm — a company
  15. firm — steady
  16. clip — a video
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. staff — employees
  21. shower — to wash
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. mouse — the animal

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