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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bound — obliged
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bound — certain
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. snap — to click
  9. craft — a skill
  10. clip — a video
  11. craft — boats
  12. bound — tied together
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. rock — a stone
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. content — happy
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. content — the amount
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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