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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: band · ground · bulb · date · lean · bound · content · bat

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bat — the animal
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. content — the amount
  8. bound — tied together
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bulb — for light
  12. date — the fruit
  13. lean — to bend
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. content — happy
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bound — obliged
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bound — certain
  20. lean — thin
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a ring

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