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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. cap — a lid
  3. spring — of water
  4. clip — a video
  5. toast — bread
  6. kid — child
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bound — certain
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — a trail
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bound — obliged
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. clip — for paper
  22. spring — a coil
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. spring — the season

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