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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. clip — for paper
  2. firm — steady
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — an aim
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. object — to protest
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bound — obliged
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. hand — help
  19. firm — a company
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. firm — decided
  23. clip — a video
  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