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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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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: fall · clip · perch · land · bat · bowl · lash · stick

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fall — to drop
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. clip — to cut
  6. land — a country
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. clip — a video
  10. land — ground
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fall — the season
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. land — to come down
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. perch — the fish
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bat — the animal

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