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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 · fork · pitch · content · stock · band · coach · object

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. object — to protest
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. object — a thing
  6. content — happy
  7. fork — in a road
  8. stock — goods
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. stock — shares
  13. object — an aim
  14. bound — tied together
  15. content — the amount
  16. band — a music group
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bound — certain
  21. band — a ring
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. pitch — a sports field

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