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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. staff — a stick
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. band — a music group
  5. clip — a video
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. band — a ring
  9. staff — employees
  10. field — a subject
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. key — for a lock
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. staff — employees
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. field — for sport
  19. key — the most important part
  20. clip — for paper
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. key — in music
  23. field — farmland
  24. bound — obliged

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