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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bound — obliged
  3. pit — in a race
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pit — a hole
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. game — wild animals
  9. hand — help
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. game — a match
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. clip — a video
  18. bound — tied together
  19. kick — in football
  20. bound — certain
  21. clip — for paper
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wake — a trail
  24. kick — a thrill

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