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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 116 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: club · degree · staff · wake · bound · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bound — obliged
  3. club — a group
  4. degree — temperature
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bound — certain
  7. club — for golf
  8. clip — to cut
  9. degree — an amount
  10. staff — employees
  11. degree — from a university
  12. staff — employees
  13. bound — tied together
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. staff — a stick
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. clip — for paper

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