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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: racket · clip · bound · wind · mine · arm · staff · cap

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — a video
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bound — obliged
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cap — a lid
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. bound — certain
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cap — of ice
  22. wind — moving air
  23. staff — employees
  24. mine — for digging

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