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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. key — for a lock
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — in music
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. clip — a video
  12. bound — obliged
  13. hand — help
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. mark — a trace
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bound — certain
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. mark — a grade

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