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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: chair · band · lie · can · perch · racket · tear · clip

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tear — from crying
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. tear — to rip
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. can — a tin
  12. tear — from crying
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. clip — a video
  15. can — to be able to
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. band — a music group
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. band — a ring
  20. can — a tin
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. perch — the fish
  24. lie — to recline

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