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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: bay · row · perch · cell · clip · rule

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rule — a law
  4. cell — in biology
  5. row — to paddle
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rule — government
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cell — a phone
  15. perch — the fish
  16. clip — a video
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. row — a line

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