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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: perch · clip · craft · shower · lean · mark · content · race

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. lean — to rest against
  2. craft — a skill
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. shower — rain
  5. clip — to cut
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. craft — boats
  10. content — happy
  11. lean — to bend
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. shower — to wash
  16. lean — thin
  17. content — the amount
  18. perch — the fish
  19. mark — a grade
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. race — the arms race
  22. mark — a trace
  23. clip — for paper
  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