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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bulb — for light
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. clip — for paper
  7. snap — to click
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bound — tied together
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. band — a music group
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bound — certain
  18. bark — to shout
  19. clip — a video
  20. band — a ring
  21. rest — a break
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bulb — for light

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