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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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 — for paper
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. roll — a cake
  5. chair — a leader
  6. sharp — clever
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. roll — a list
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. clip — a video
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  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