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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 120 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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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: cell · wound · rest · bark · face · perch · clip · safe

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rest — a break
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. bark — to shout
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. perch — the fish
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — part of the head
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. wound — an injury
  15. face — to point toward
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. clip — a video
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rest — what's left

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