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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: pound · clip · march · scale · can · foot · racket · perch

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. clip — to cut
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — a tin
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. clip — for paper
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. scale — in music
  12. march — the month
  13. pound — a weight
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — a measure
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. march — music
  19. scale — size or range
  20. perch — the fish
  21. can — to be able to
  22. clip — a video
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. racket — for tennis

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