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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. swing — in golf
  3. suit — in cards
  4. clip — for paper
  5. swing — music
  6. bound — certain
  7. suit — clothes
  8. bound — obliged
  9. drill — the tool
  10. court — of a king
  11. clip — a video
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. drill — army training
  14. court — of law
  15. court — for sport
  16. swing — to play on
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. bound — tied together
  19. file — a document
  20. clip — to cut
  21. suit — to fit
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. drill — a practice

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