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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: cell · saw · bound · arm · clip · rush

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. clip — to cut
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bound — tied together
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. saw — the tool
  10. rush — hurry
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. cell — a phone
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video

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