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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 120 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: perch · mark · rule · cell · kick · wind · track · pound

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. rule — government
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. mark — a grade
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rule — a law
  10. perch — the fish
  11. mark — a trace
  12. pound — a weight
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. kick — in football
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. track — a path
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. kick — a thrill

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