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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: can · perch · chip · craft · clip · tear · last · root

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. clip — a video
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tear — from crying
  5. can — a tin
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chip — to eat
  8. root — the cause
  9. can — to be able to
  10. tear — to rip
  11. chip — for betting
  12. clip — to cut
  13. craft — boats
  14. root — of a plant
  15. clip — for paper
  16. craft — a skill
  17. root — of a word
  18. last — to go on
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. perch — the fish
  23. last — final
  24. can — a tin

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