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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · perch · swing · drill · object · clip · stem · lean

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. object — to protest
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lean — to bend
  5. perch — the fish
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. drill — the tool
  8. swing — in golf
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. clip — a video
  11. object — an aim
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. swing — to play on
  14. drill — army training
  15. stem — to come from
  16. season — of the year
  17. lean — thin
  18. season — in sport
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. drill — a practice
  22. clip — for paper
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. swing — music

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