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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. rock — a stone
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. swing — music
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. swing — to play on
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. clip — a video
  13. rush — hurry
  14. clip — to cut
  15. land — a country
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rock — music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bound — obliged
  22. cold — not warm
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bound — certain

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