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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 120 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: clip · trunk · bound · plane · firm · race · swing · game

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. swing — to play on
  3. bound — certain
  4. firm — decided
  5. firm — steady
  6. plane — a tool
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. race — humankind
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. game — wild animals
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. firm — a company
  18. game — a match
  19. race — a contest
  20. bound — obliged
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. race — the arms race
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. bound — tied together

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