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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: wave · press · wound · last · foot · bound · bark · clip

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. bark — to shout
  6. last — to go on
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. press — to push
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bound — tied together
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — a measure
  15. clip — a video
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bound — certain
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bound — obliged
  21. clip — for paper
  22. last — final
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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