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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bound — certain
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. clip — a video
  6. spell — letters
  7. key — in music
  8. spell — magic
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. swing — in golf
  11. key — for a lock
  12. clip — to cut
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. swing — to play on
  15. snap — to click
  16. shower — rain
  17. rock — a stone
  18. clip — for paper
  19. swing — music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bound — tied together
  23. spell — a short time
  24. shower — to wash

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