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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: pop · fork · net · clip · toast · bat · foot · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. clip — a video
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pop — music
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. toast — bread
  10. net — for catching
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. foot — a measure
  14. pop — to visit
  15. clip — to cut
  16. perch — the fish
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fork — in a road
  23. pop — soda
  24. clip — for paper

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