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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: board · ball · kick · march · bear · bound · stem · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bound — certain
  3. march — the month
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bound — tied together
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bear — the animal
  16. kick — in football
  17. board — a committee
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — to come from
  20. content — the amount
  21. bear — the animal
  22. ball — a great time
  23. march — music
  24. stem — of a plant

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