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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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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: bore · clip · bound · mate · band · rush · track · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. band — a music group
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. ground — a position
  6. clip — a video
  7. bound — certain
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bound — obliged
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. track — a song
  14. bound — tied together
  15. mate — a friend
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mate — a partner
  18. ground — the earth
  19. track — a path
  20. clip — for paper
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. track — to keep track
  24. rush — a thrill

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