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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 116 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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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: kick · clip · march · net · fork · vault · perch · branch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. net — in sport
  7. kick — in football
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. march — the month
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. net — for catching
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. march — the month
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. march — music
  19. net — after costs
  20. clip — a video
  21. vault — a safe
  22. branch — a division
  23. perch — the fish
  24. clip — to cut

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