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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: board · tear · season · bound · clip · lie · ball · wound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. clip — a video
  3. board — a committee
  4. tear — to rip
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bound — certain
  7. ball — a great time
  8. season — in sport
  9. lie — to recline
  10. clip — for paper
  11. season — of the year
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bound — tied together
  22. board — to get on
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. board — a flat piece

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