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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: game · clip · wound · perch · rash · calf · pass · court

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. clip — for paper
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. perch — the fish
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. clip — to cut
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. court — of a king
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. clip — a video
  16. court — for sport
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. court — of law
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rash — a series
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pass — a permit
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pass — to succeed

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