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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. spring — a coil
  3. suit — to fit
  4. clip — to cut
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. clip — a video
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bound — certain
  9. suit — clothes
  10. land — ground
  11. spring — the season
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. land — a country
  16. bore — to drill
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. foot — a measure
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spring — of water
  22. suit — in cards
  23. bound — tied together
  24. 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