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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — certain
  3. clip — for paper
  4. fall — the season
  5. capital — a city
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bound — tied together
  11. mate — a friend
  12. capital — money
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — to rob
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. mate — to breed
  17. row — to paddle
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. row — a line
  20. wake — a trail
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mate — a partner
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. mug — a cup

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