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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — for golf
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. clip — a video
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wind — moving air
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bound — obliged
  18. clip — for paper

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