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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: lean · rule · spring · bound · perch · pit · fall · clip

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bound — tied together
  5. clip — a video
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — a hole
  8. spring — the season
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. lean — thin
  12. clip — to cut
  13. spring — of water
  14. fall — the season
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. pit — in a race
  18. perch — the fish
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rule — government
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fall — to drop
  24. perch — for a bird

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