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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: deal · bound · wind · foot · content · court · clip · cabinet

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. clip — a video
  3. bound — obliged
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. clip — for paper
  7. content — the amount
  8. foot — a measure
  9. court — for sport
  10. content — happy
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. bound — tied together
  14. deal — to handle
  15. court — of law
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. clip — to cut
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. bound — certain
  23. wind — moving air
  24. court — of a king

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