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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 120 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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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 — obliged
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bound — tied together
  4. swing — to play on
  5. shower — rain
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. current — happening now
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bound — certain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. swing — music
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. clip — to cut
  16. current — electric
  17. clip — a video
  18. current — of water
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. capital — a city
  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