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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. swing — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spell — a short time
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. clip — for paper
  12. prune — to trim
  13. scale — in music
  14. bound — certain
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — letters
  19. bound — tied together
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. clip — a video
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spell — magic

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