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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.

Make a worksheet

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: perch · clip · stem · tube · fine · cold · bass · branch

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bass — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — the underground
  8. stem — to come from
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. perch — the fish
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bass — low music
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. fine — all right
  20. branch — a division
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fine — high quality
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. stem — a stem cell

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