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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 116 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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. clip — a video
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. hand — help
  6. kid — child
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bound — tied together
  9. spell — a short time
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. clip — to cut
  12. swing — music
  13. rock — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rock — a stone
  17. clip — for paper
  18. spell — letters
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. spell — magic
  21. kid — to tease
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. swing — in golf

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