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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 116 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: band · board · pass · rest · perch · clip · row · fall

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. board — a committee
  3. fall — the season
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. band — a music group
  10. perch — the fish
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pass — a permit
  13. fall — to drop
  14. clip — a video
  15. fall — to drop
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. row — to paddle
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. board — to get on
  24. band — a ring

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