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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.

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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: stand · march · perch · content · mark · clip · bat · file

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. stand — to bear
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — a grade
  5. clip — for paper
  6. content — happy
  7. march — the month
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. clip — a video
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bat — the animal
  13. file — a tool
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. content — the amount
  20. march — music
  21. clip — to cut
  22. file — a document
  23. march — the month
  24. perch — for a bird

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