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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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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: wind · lash · vault · race · club · bound · content · land

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bound — certain
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. land — a country
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. race — humankind
  12. land — ground
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. race — a contest
  16. vault — a safe
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for golf
  20. bound — tied together
  21. content — happy
  22. land — to come down
  23. race — the arms race
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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