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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: wound · bound · roll · straw · scale · rush · date · clip

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wound — an injury
  4. clip — a video
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bound — obliged
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. scale — in music
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. clip — to cut
  12. roll — a list
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — certain
  18. wound — an injury
  19. roll — a cake
  20. rush — hurry
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. clip — for paper
  23. date — the fruit
  24. rush — a thrill

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