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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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 — a video
  2. staff — employees
  3. bound — certain
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bound — obliged
  7. staff — a stick
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. row — to paddle
  10. kid — to tease
  11. clip — to cut
  12. row — a line
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. pit — in a race
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. clip — for paper
  18. staff — employees
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. kid — child
  23. rule — to rule out
  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