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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. saw — the tool
  3. clip — to cut
  4. last — finally
  5. spell — magic
  6. staff — employees
  7. last — to go on
  8. staff — employees
  9. season — in sport
  10. last — final
  11. spell — a short time
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. clip — for paper
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. spell — letters
  16. saw — the tool
  17. staff — a stick
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. season — of the year
  21. clip — a video
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. season — to add flavour

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