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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: wind · clip · wound · temple · mate · perch · charge · bound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wind — moving air
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mate — to breed
  7. clip — a video
  8. perch — the fish
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — to cut
  12. charge — electricity
  13. charge — in control
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — obliged
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bound — tied together
  20. wound — an injury
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. charge — a price

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