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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 116 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: cell · bound · chair · press · content · bore

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bore — to tire
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cell — a phone
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bound — certain
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bore — to drill
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. content — the amount
  18. press — to push

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