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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. row — a line
  5. bound — obliged
  6. march — the month
  7. clip — a video
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. clip — to cut
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. clip — for paper
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. march — music
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. hand — help
  22. bound — tied together
  23. row — to paddle
  24. march — the month

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