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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. clip — to cut
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kick — in football
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — certain
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. content — the amount
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bound — tied together
  14. rash — a series
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. clip — a video
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. content — happy
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — hasty
  23. snap — to click
  24. content — videos and posts

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