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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: ground · bound · net · lean · clip · spring · deal · court

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. spring — of water
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. clip — a video
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bound — tied together
  11. net — in sport
  12. spring — the season
  13. lean — to bend
  14. court — of law
  15. net — after costs
  16. court — for sport
  17. clip — to cut
  18. deal — to handle
  19. ground — crushed
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. court — of a king
  22. spring — a coil
  23. net — for catching
  24. clip — for paper

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