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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bulb · clip · chair · safe · land · temple · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wound — an injury
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. clip — for paper
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bound — tied together
  15. land — a country
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bound — certain
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. bulb — for light
  24. clip — a video

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