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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: leaves · clip · racket · bear · game · bound · drill · deal

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bound — certain
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bear — the animal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. clip — a video
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. deal — to handle
  13. drill — the tool
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bound — obliged
  17. game — wild animals
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. drill — a practice
  20. clip — to cut
  21. game — a match
  22. drill — army training
  23. bound — tied together
  24. racket — for tennis

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