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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. hand — help
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bound — obliged
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bound — certain
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bank — for money
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bank — of a river
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bank — for money
  23. clip — a video
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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