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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. key — for a lock
  4. capital — a city
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. craft — boats
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. bound — obliged
  12. firm — a company
  13. key — the most important part
  14. clip — a video
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. firm — steady
  17. row — a line
  18. capital — money
  19. row — to paddle
  20. craft — a skill
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. key — in music
  24. firm — decided

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