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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. file — a line of people
  8. perch — the fish
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. file — a tool
  11. lie — to recline
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bark — to shout
  15. file — a document
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bound — obliged
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — certain
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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