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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cell · straw · spell · bound · capital · bulb · row · content

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. spell — a short time
  3. content — the amount
  4. capital — a city
  5. cell — in biology
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bound — tied together
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spell — letters
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bound — obliged
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. spell — magic
  19. content — happy
  20. row — to paddle
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. capital — money
  23. bulb — for light
  24. row — a line

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