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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: face · bound · clip · mate · wound · perch · rock · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mate — to breed
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bound — obliged
  6. mate — a partner
  7. face — part of the head
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mate — a friend
  10. last — final
  11. face — to confront
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — a stone
  16. clip — to cut
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. last — finally
  20. clip — a video
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. bound — tied together
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bound — certain

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