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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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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: bound · fork · clip · prune · pop · tube · court · lie

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pop — soda
  5. lie — to recline
  6. clip — a video
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. court — for sport
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bound — obliged
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pop — music
  16. fork — in a road
  17. clip — to cut
  18. court — of a king
  19. tube — a container
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. pop — to visit
  24. court — of law

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