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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: temple · perch · clip · object · mate · bound · net · stock

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bound — obliged
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. object — a thing
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. mate — to breed
  8. net — for catching
  9. mate — a friend
  10. object — to protest
  11. stock — shares
  12. clip — a video
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. net — after costs
  15. stock — goods
  16. net — in sport
  17. bound — tied together
  18. object — an aim
  19. mate — a partner
  20. clip — to cut
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. bound — certain
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. clip — for paper

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