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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 116 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: row · band · lash · clip · court · firm · branch · bound

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — tied together
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. firm — a company
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. row — a line
  10. clip — to cut
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. row — to paddle
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. court — of a king
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. firm — decided
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. firm — steady
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bound — certain
  23. clip — a video
  24. lash — an eyelash

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