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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: trunk · field · chair · scale · bound · perch · clip · wound

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. clip — a video
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. field — for sport
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bound — tied together
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. perch — the fish
  13. field — a subject
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chair — a leader
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. scale — in music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bound — obliged
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bound — certain
  24. scale — size or range

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