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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · clip · fan · ground · wind · temple · spring · vault

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bound — certain
  4. spring — a coil
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. clip — a video
  7. vault — a safe
  8. bound — tied together
  9. ground — the earth
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. clip — for paper
  12. ground — a position
  13. spring — the season
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bound — obliged
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. clip — to cut
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. spring — of water

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