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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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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: clip · lie · bound · spring · wound · hand · cabinet · bat

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. spring — the season
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bound — certain
  9. clip — a video
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. hand — help
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wound — an injury
  17. hand — in cards
  18. lie — to recline
  19. bat — the animal
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bound — obliged
  23. spring — of water
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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