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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: perch · racket · cold · wake · suit · craft · clip · club

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. clip — a video
  5. craft — boats
  6. club — a group
  7. suit — to fit
  8. clip — for paper
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. suit — clothes
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cold — an illness
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — for dancing
  17. suit — in cards
  18. craft — a skill
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. craft — a handicraft

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