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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: spring · clip · lean · bound · mine · present · toast · perch

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bound — obliged
  3. perch — the fish
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. present — there
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. lean — to bend
  9. spring — of water
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bound — certain
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. present — the time now
  14. bound — tied together
  15. spring — a coil
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — bread
  18. clip — for paper
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. lean — thin
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. spring — the season
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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