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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: bound · wound · temple · arm · ball · spell · row · clip

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. row — a line
  5. clip — a video
  6. row — to paddle
  7. spell — a short time
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. clip — to cut
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. spell — letters
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bound — certain
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bound — tied together
  19. spell — magic
  20. wound — an injury
  21. clip — for paper
  22. ball — a dance
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. ball — a great time

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