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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. court — of a king
  3. capital — a city
  4. object — a thing
  5. bound — obliged
  6. capital — money
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. clip — a video
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. object — an aim
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of law
  17. pound — a weight
  18. object — to protest
  19. stand — to bear
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. bound — certain
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. bound — tied together
  24. temple — a place of worship

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