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

Word bank: wound · hand · clip · wake · saw · bulb · bound · fine

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. hand — in cards
  3. clip — for paper
  4. fine — high quality
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bound — obliged
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bound — tied together
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. hand — help
  15. bound — certain
  16. clip — to cut
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. clip — a video
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fine — all right
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bulb — for light

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