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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: cue · calf · clip · mine · lie · perch · tear · hand

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. tear — from crying
  3. perch — the fish
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. tear — from crying
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cue — a hint
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. clip — a video
  13. cue — for pool
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. clip — to cut
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. tear — to rip
  21. mine — for digging
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cue — a signal
  24. lie — to recline

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