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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: arm · bound · chair · clip · wind · spring · pitcher · squash

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bound — certain
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spring — a coil
  10. squash — the sport
  11. spring — the season
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. clip — for paper
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. clip — a video
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. spring — of water
  20. chair — a leader
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bound — tied together
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bound — obliged

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