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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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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 · hand · net · track · clip · season · bark · plane

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. clip — a video
  4. bound — certain
  5. hand — help
  6. clip — to cut
  7. track — a song
  8. net — after costs
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. plane — a tool
  11. net — for catching
  12. season — in sport
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. season — of the year
  17. bark — to shout
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. track — a path
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. clip — for paper
  22. track — to keep track
  23. net — in sport
  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