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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: snap · object · perch · clip · coach · cold · march · charge

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. clip — to cut
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. charge — a price
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. clip — a video
  8. charge — in control
  9. object — a thing
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — not warm
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — to protest
  14. cold — an illness
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. snap — to click
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. perch — the fish
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. clip — for paper
  22. march — music
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. charge — electricity

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