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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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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 · wound · spring · mark · lie · wax · clip · rock

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. rock — music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rock — a stone
  9. lie — to recline
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. clip — a video
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. spring — a coil
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wax — to grow
  17. perch — the fish
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mark — a trace
  22. spring — of water
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. spring — the season

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