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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bank — for money
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — obliged
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. plane — a tool
  8. clip — to cut
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. clip — a video
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bank — of a river
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bound — tied together
  17. field — a subject
  18. tube — a container
  19. field — for sport
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. bank — for money
  24. field — farmland

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