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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: leaves · current · bound · spring · clip · wind · cell · rest

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. bound — certain
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bound — obliged
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. clip — a video
  13. current — of water
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. rest — a break
  16. bound — tied together
  17. rest — what's left
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. spring — of water
  20. current — happening now
  21. wind — moving air
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cell — a phone
  24. current — electric

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