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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: fall · temple · perch · sharp · clip · rule · fine · mouse

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. clip — a video
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. rule — a law
  9. fine — all right
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rule — government
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. sharp — clever
  20. fine — high quality
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. rule — to rule out

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