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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 116 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: game · hand · race · perch · rock · branch · lie · clip

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. race — a contest
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. perch — the fish
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. branch — a division
  10. game — a match
  11. lie — to recline
  12. game — wild animals
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hand — help
  18. race — humankind
  19. rock — music
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rock — a stone
  22. hand — in cards
  23. race — the arms race
  24. hand — part of the body

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