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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: rash · kid · roll · clip · bound · bulb · rock · field

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — tied together
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. kid — to tease
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rash — a series
  7. field — a subject
  8. roll — a cake
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. rock — music
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. field — for sport
  15. kid — child
  16. rash — hasty
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. field — farmland
  19. clip — a video
  20. rock — a stone
  21. roll — a list
  22. bound — certain
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. rock — to move gently

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