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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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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: leaves · kid · fall · bound · clip · club · current · toast

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bound — tied together
  4. club — for dancing
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. kid — child
  7. clip — a video
  8. fall — to drop
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. kid — to tease
  11. club — a group
  12. current — electric
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. club — for golf
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. current — happening now
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fall — the season
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. bound — certain
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. current — of water
  24. clip — to cut

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