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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: kid · lie · bark · bound · deal · bat · clip · wound

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bark — to shout
  5. lie — to recline
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bat — the animal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bound — obliged
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bound — certain
  17. kid — child
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bound — tied together
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. bat — for baseball

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