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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 116 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: plane · bound · march · perch · rule · bowl · staff · kid

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. rule — a law
  4. kid — child
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — certain
  7. staff — employees
  8. march — the month
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bound — obliged
  12. march — music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. march — the month
  15. perch — the fish
  16. staff — employees
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. staff — a stick
  19. rule — government
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. plane — a tool
  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