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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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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bound — tied together
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. cold — an illness
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bound — certain
  13. drill — a practice
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. drill — army training
  20. content — the amount
  21. wound — an injury
  22. content — happy
  23. drill — the tool
  24. ruler — a monarch

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