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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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Word bank
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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: rule · clip · season · spring · ruler · bound · craft · capital

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bound — tied together
  3. clip — to cut
  4. spring — the season
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. spring — a coil
  8. clip — a video
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. craft — boats
  12. capital — a city
  13. rule — government
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rule — a law
  16. craft — a skill
  17. capital — money
  18. spring — of water
  19. bound — obliged
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. ruler — a monarch

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