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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. chest — a box
  3. bound — obliged
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mug — to rob
  8. clip — a video
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bound — certain
  14. club — for golf
  15. mug — a face
  16. mine — for digging
  17. club — a group
  18. bound — tied together
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. chest — of your body
  21. clip — for paper
  22. kick — in football
  23. club — for dancing
  24. deal — a big deal

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