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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: ball · cell · bound · track · cold · can · content · dip

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. can — a tin
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bound — certain
  11. dip — to sink
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bound — tied together
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. content — happy
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ball — a dance
  19. content — the amount
  20. cold — an illness
  21. track — a path
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. track — a song
  24. track — to keep track

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