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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pop — music
  3. capital — a city
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. capital — money
  6. clip — a video
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bound — certain
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bound — tied together
  14. clip — to cut
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pop — soda
  18. bulb — for light
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. drill — army training
  21. bulb — for light
  22. pop — to visit
  23. drill — the tool
  24. mouse — the animal

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