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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. band — a music group
  3. clip — a video
  4. bound — certain
  5. clip — for paper
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. clip — to cut
  8. kid — child
  9. band — a ring
  10. bound — obliged
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ball — a great time
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. kid — to tease
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ball — a dance
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. chest — a box

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