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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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468
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: fall · stick · object · pound · clip · hide · bound · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. object — to protest
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. fall — to drop
  10. clip — to cut
  11. fall — the season
  12. object — a thing
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. fall — to drop
  19. object — an aim
  20. bound — tied together
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — certain
  24. clip — a video

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