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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bound · swing · rock · fan · clip · land

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. rock — music
  3. swing — music
  4. land — to come down
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. swing — to play on
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rock — a stone
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. land — ground
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bound — tied together
  16. land — a country
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bound — certain

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