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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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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: cabinet · clip · pound · last · perch · mate · sharp · season

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. last — finally
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. clip — for paper
  5. last — final
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. last — to go on
  10. mate — a friend
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. mate — to breed
  17. pound — a weight
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — clever
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. season — of the year
  24. clip — a video

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