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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. kick — in football
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. land — to come down
  6. court — for sport
  7. swing — to play on
  8. land — ground
  9. fine — all right
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. clip — for paper
  12. swing — music
  13. court — of a king
  14. kid — child
  15. land — a country
  16. bound — tied together
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bound — certain
  19. clip — a video
  20. swing — in golf
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kid — to tease
  23. court — of law
  24. clip — to cut

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