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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. race — humankind
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — a stick
  8. chip — for betting
  9. staff — employees
  10. clip — a video
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — tied together
  13. tear — to rip
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — for paper
  17. race — the arms race
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. tear — from crying
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. race — a contest
  23. chip — to eat
  24. field — for sport

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