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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: perch · present · can · stand · temple · chest · clip · bark

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — the time now
  4. bark — to shout
  5. chest — a box
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. perch — the fish
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. can — to be able to
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. clip — for paper
  14. can — a tin
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stand — to bear
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. can — a tin
  24. chest — of your body

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