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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: bark · clip · straw · wind · pop · season · key · bound

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. key — in music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pop — music
  9. bound — certain
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. key — the most important part
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wind — moving air
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. wind — to turn a key

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