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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. can — to be able to
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bound — obliged
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bound — tied together
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. game — a match
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. bound — certain
  16. pound — a weight
  17. clip — for paper
  18. can — a tin
  19. drill — a practice
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. can — a tin
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — boats
  24. clip — a video

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