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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wind · bound · club · drill · patient · bear · clip · spring

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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 — to cut
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bound — certain
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spring — of water
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bound — obliged
  10. drill — army training
  11. clip — a video
  12. drill — a practice
  13. club — a group
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. club — for golf
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bear — the animal
  20. club — for dancing
  21. spring — the season
  22. drill — the tool
  23. patient — a sick person
  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