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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bound — obliged
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — to tire
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. bound — tied together
  11. court — for sport
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. fork — in a road
  14. spring — a coil
  15. court — of law
  16. bound — certain
  17. squash — to crush
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. court — of a king
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fork — a garden tool

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