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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 116 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: fall · clip · deal · fine · degree · court · stick · bound

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. clip — for paper
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. bound — tied together
  10. degree — an amount
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. bound — certain
  14. fine — high quality
  15. degree — from a university
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fall — to drop
  18. court — for sport
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. fall — to drop
  21. deal — to handle
  22. fall — the season
  23. fine — all right
  24. bound — obliged

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