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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. clip — a video
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bound — certain
  8. pop — music
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bear — the animal
  12. row — to paddle
  13. pop — soda
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pop — to visit
  17. spell — magic
  18. chest — a box
  19. lie — to recline
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. row — a quarrel

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