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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 116 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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. clip — for paper
  4. key — for a lock
  5. last — final
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wind — moving air
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. key — in music
  11. last — finally
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. last — to go on
  14. bound — obliged
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. clip — a video
  17. key — the most important part
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bound — certain
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bat — 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