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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: kid · lean · net · content · present · bound · fork · land

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bound — certain
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. bound — tied together
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. content — happy
  8. lean — to bend
  9. kid — child
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. present — there
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. land — to come down
  15. content — the amount
  16. present — the time now
  17. lean — thin
  18. kid — to tease
  19. net — after costs
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bound — obliged
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. fork — in a road

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