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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: date · fine · perch · mate · cell · club · clip · fall

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. mate — to breed
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cell — in biology
  6. club — for dancing
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. cell — a phone
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fine — all right
  12. date — the fruit
  13. clip — a video
  14. mate — a friend
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. fall — the season
  18. club — for golf
  19. perch — the fish
  20. mate — a partner
  21. fall — to drop
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. fine — high quality
  24. club — a group

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