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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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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: chest · bound · perch · wound · prune · bear · foot · bat

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bound — certain
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. perch — the fish
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. chest — a box
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wound — an injury
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. chest — of your body
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. foot — a measure
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bound — tied together

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