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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — tied together
  3. clip — a video
  4. ball — a dance
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. capital — a city
  7. squash — the sport
  8. file — a tool
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pound — a weight
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. file — a document
  16. capital — money
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bound — certain
  20. squash — to crush
  21. clip — to cut
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. pound — for dogs

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