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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: band · fork · spell · craft · content · clip · pop · bound

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — tied together
  5. band — a ring
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. content — the amount
  8. spell — letters
  9. clip — a video
  10. bound — obliged
  11. clip — for paper
  12. spell — a short time
  13. band — a music group
  14. fork — in a road
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pop — music
  17. clip — to cut
  18. content — happy
  19. craft — boats
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. pop — to visit
  23. spell — magic
  24. pop — soda

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