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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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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: mouse · field · clip · perch · pound · straw · chip · lean

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. chip — to eat
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. lean — to bend
  8. clip — to cut
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. lean — thin
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. field — a subject
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. field — for sport
  17. pound — a weight
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. perch — the fish
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. field — farmland
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. clip — a video

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