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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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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: can · clip · tear · bound · pound · key · club · chest

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. clip — to cut
  3. club — for golf
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. key — for a lock
  10. can — a tin
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. can — to be able to
  13. club — for dancing
  14. key — in music
  15. club — a group
  16. chest — a box
  17. pound — a weight
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bound — tied together
  20. tear — to rip
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bound — certain
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chest — of your body

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