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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: bound · clip · lean · row · scale · wake · lie · mine

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. wake — a trail
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. lean — thin
  4. clip — a video
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — in music
  8. row — a line
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bound — tied together
  12. mine — for digging
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bound — obliged
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bound — certain
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. row — to paddle
  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