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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 120 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: net · perch · clip · present · board · capital · bear · file

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. net — in sport
  3. present — there
  4. clip — a video
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. capital — money
  10. perch — the fish
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. present — a gift
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. board — to get on
  16. net — for catching
  17. file — a line of people
  18. capital — a city
  19. net — after costs
  20. present — the time now
  21. board — a committee
  22. bear — the animal
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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