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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: squash · clip · wound · kid · bound · club · spring · chip

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bound — obliged
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. club — for golf
  8. kid — to tease
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. bound — tied together
  12. squash — the sport
  13. club — a group
  14. spring — a coil
  15. chip — to eat
  16. spring — of water
  17. kid — child
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. chip — for betting
  22. club — for dancing
  23. clip — to cut
  24. spring — the season

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