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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: clip · lean · land · perch · charge · board · shower · straw

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  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. board — a committee
  2. clip — to cut
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. lean — thin
  5. land — a country
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. charge — in control
  10. board — to get on
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. clip — a video
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. shower — rain
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. charge — electricity
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. clip — for paper
  19. lean — to bend
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. shower — to wash
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. charge — a price
  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