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

Word bank: bound · vault · stand · fall · clip · court · pound · arm

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. stand — to bear
  4. pound — a weight
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bound — certain
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. court — for sport
  10. fall — to drop
  11. court — of a king
  12. vault — a safe
  13. clip — to cut
  14. court — of law
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. clip — a video
  18. bound — tied together
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bound — obliged
  24. fall — the season

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