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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bound — obliged
  3. present — a gift
  4. charge — a price
  5. present — there
  6. clip — a video
  7. fine — all right
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bound — certain
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. charge — in control
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. snap — to click
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bound — tied together
  19. fine — high quality
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. present — the time now
  24. fine — a penalty

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