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

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. mate — to breed
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. mate — a partner
  9. row — to paddle
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mate — a friend
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. clip — a video
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. perch — the fish
  20. rule — government
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bore — to tire
  23. cell — a phone
  24. perch — for a bird

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