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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: bound · rest · pit · cap · row · bat · perch · bank

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bank — for money
  4. row — a line
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cap — a hat
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bound — obliged
  10. pit — a hole
  11. perch — the fish
  12. rest — what's left
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bound — certain
  16. rest — a break
  17. bank — for money
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cap — a lid

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