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

Word bank: bound · row · clip · rush · toast · march · ground · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bound — obliged
  3. ground — the earth
  4. clip — a video
  5. ground — a position
  6. bound — certain
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. march — the month
  10. cell — a phone
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. bound — tied together
  13. ground — crushed
  14. march — music
  15. clip — to cut
  16. row — to paddle
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. march — the month
  19. toast — bread
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. rush — hurry
  23. clip — for paper
  24. row — a line

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