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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: root · fine · clip · wind · land · stick · perch · bound

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bound — obliged
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. root — of a plant
  5. clip — for paper
  6. land — ground
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. fine — all right
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. clip — a video
  13. bound — certain
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. perch — the fish
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bound — tied together
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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