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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: lean · season · bound · bowl · bat · pitch · clip · arm

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bound — certain
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. clip — a video
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. season — in sport
  10. pitch — completely
  11. lean — thin
  12. clip — for paper
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. season — of the year
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. season — to add flavour

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