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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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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: board · bound · land · bat · patient · perch · fork · race

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. race — humankind
  5. bound — certain
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. perch — the fish
  8. land — ground
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — to get on
  12. land — to come down
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. land — a country
  18. fork — in a road
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bound — obliged
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fork — to eat with

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