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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. clip — for paper
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bound — obliged
  5. season — of the year
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. clip — a video
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. season — in sport
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — completely
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bound — tied together
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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