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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: cell · board · track · perch · wound · chest · bat · bank

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bank — for money
  3. chest — of your body
  4. board — to get on
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chest — a box
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. track — a path
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bank — for money
  14. cell — in biology
  15. track — a song
  16. board — a committee
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bat — for baseball

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