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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cell — in biology
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — a price
  13. clip — for paper
  14. charge — electricity
  15. cell — a phone
  16. row — to paddle
  17. clip — a video
  18. bound — obliged
  19. fork — in a road
  20. row — a line
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bound — certain

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