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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. last — to go on
  3. hand — help
  4. clip — for paper
  5. object — an aim
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. hand — in cards
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bound — obliged
  11. last — finally
  12. object — to protest
  13. last — final
  14. root — of a word
  15. clip — a video
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fine — all right
  19. bound — certain
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fine — high quality
  22. object — a thing
  23. root — the cause
  24. mouse — the animal

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