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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. hand — in cards
  4. current — of water
  5. staff — employees
  6. bound — obliged
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. current — happening now
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. current — electric
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wound — an injury
  13. hand — help
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to click
  16. bound — tied together
  17. clip — a video
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bound — certain
  20. staff — employees
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. staff — a stick
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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