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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: object · bank · spell · rule · wake · content · bound · clip

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. spell — letters
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. spell — magic
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. object — a thing
  8. bound — certain
  9. bank — for money
  10. rule — a law
  11. bank — of a river
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bound — tied together
  14. rule — government
  15. bound — obliged
  16. object — an aim
  17. bank — for money
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. content — the amount
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wake — a trail
  23. clip — a video
  24. content — happy

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