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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bass — low music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. bound — tied together
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a great time
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pass — a permit
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bound — certain
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. bass — the fish

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