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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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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: race · row · perch · bound · march · cell

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bound — tied together
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. row — a line
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cell — in biology
  9. march — music
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cell — a phone
  12. race — a contest
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bound — certain
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. row — to paddle
  18. race — the arms race

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