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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 124 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. clip — a video
  3. drill — the tool
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. ball — a great time
  6. pit — in a race
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. ball — a dance
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. clip — for paper
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. drill — army training
  18. pit — a hole
  19. bound — certain
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wake — a trail
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. drill — a practice
  24. clip — to cut

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