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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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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. bound — obliged
  3. clip — a video
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. suit — in cards
  6. court — for sport
  7. clip — to cut
  8. object — a thing
  9. board — a committee
  10. clip — for paper
  11. court — of law
  12. game — a match
  13. suit — clothes
  14. suit — to fit
  15. board — to get on
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bound — tied together
  18. object — to protest
  19. court — of a king
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. mine — for digging
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bound — certain

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