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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: bound · mouse · kid · jam · bat · last · band · clip

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. last — finally
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. band — a ring
  8. bound — tied together
  9. kid — child
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. clip — a video
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. kid — to tease
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bound — obliged
  22. band — a music group
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. bat — the animal

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