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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: wake · bore · bound · wound · calf · mine · clip · fine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bound — certain
  5. fine — all right
  6. bound — obliged
  7. clip — a video
  8. fine — high quality
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bound — tied together
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. mine — for digging
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — to tire
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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