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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. spell — letters
  5. bound — certain
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bass — low music
  13. content — the amount
  14. craft — a skill
  15. spell — magic
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bass — the fish
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. clip — a video
  21. bulb — for light
  22. clip — for paper
  23. craft — boats
  24. bound — tied together

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