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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. saw — the tool
  4. kid — to tease
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. saw — the tool
  7. content — the amount
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — obliged
  10. clip — to cut
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bound — certain
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. kid — child
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. root — the cause
  19. clip — a video
  20. root — of a word
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. root — of a plant
  23. content — happy
  24. coach — a trainer

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