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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. swing — in golf
  3. key — in music
  4. bound — obliged
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bound — certain
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. hand — help
  11. key — the most important part
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wound — an injury
  14. swing — to play on
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. clip — to cut
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wound — an injury
  19. swing — music
  20. clip — for paper
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. clip — a video
  24. hand — in cards

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