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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: face · bound · wind · rule · perch · clip · plane · bore

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. face — to point toward
  3. rule — government
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bound — obliged
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bore — to drill
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. face — to confront
  13. clip — to cut
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bound — certain
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bound — tied together
  19. clip — a video
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bore — to tire
  24. rule — a law

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