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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 · march · clip · cell · lean · hide · mine · bass

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. lean — to bend
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. perch — the fish
  11. march — music
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bass — low music
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. clip — a video
  16. mine — for digging
  17. lean — thin
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. bass — the fish
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. cell — in biology
  24. perch — for a bird

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