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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 reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. club — for golf
  3. spring — a coil
  4. clip — for paper
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wound — an injury
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. spring — the season
  12. bound — certain
  13. wound — an injury
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. spell — magic
  18. bound — obliged
  19. spell — letters
  20. spring — of water
  21. spell — a short time
  22. club — for dancing
  23. dip — to sink
  24. club — a group

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