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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: wound · rock · wind · perch · can · bulb · bound · clip

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rock — a stone
  5. bound — tied together
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. clip — a video
  8. bulb — for light
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bound — certain
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wind — moving air
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. perch — the fish
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bound — obliged
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. can — a tin
  20. clip — to cut
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wind — moving air

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