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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.

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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: court · foot · rush · bound · fall · clip · net · face

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bound — tied together
  5. rush — hurry
  6. clip — a video
  7. net — in sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. face — to confront
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bound — certain
  12. foot — a measure
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of law
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. net — for catching
  18. fall — to drop
  19. face — to point toward
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. fall — the season
  22. net — after costs
  23. bound — obliged
  24. face — part of the head

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