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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bound — obliged
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bound — certain
  9. court — of law
  10. squash — to crush
  11. can — to be able to
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. court — of a king
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — a tin
  20. bound — tied together
  21. snap — to click
  22. squash — the sport
  23. tube — the underground
  24. court — for sport

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