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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. board — to get on
  6. spring — a coil
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. spring — the season
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. season — of the year
  15. mine — for digging
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. board — a committee
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. spring — of water
  23. season — in sport
  24. board — a flat piece

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