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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: track · club · content · row · kid · spell · bound · fork

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bound — certain
  3. spell — a short time
  4. club — for dancing
  5. fork — in a road
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. club — for golf
  8. bound — tied together
  9. row — a line
  10. club — a group
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. track — a song
  14. content — the amount
  15. spell — magic
  16. content — happy
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. kid — child
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. spell — letters
  22. track — a path
  23. bound — obliged
  24. fork — a garden tool

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