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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: clip · game · wax · perch · fork · chair · stock · cap

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. clip — to cut
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cap — a hat
  5. clip — a video
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wax — to grow
  8. game — a match
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. cap — of ice
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stock — shares
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. stock — goods
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. fork — in a road
  24. perch — the fish

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