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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
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: bear · clip · content · rush · straw · cell · march · bound

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bound — obliged
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cell — a phone
  6. content — happy
  7. rush — hurry
  8. clip — a video
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bear — the animal
  12. march — music
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. march — the month
  17. cell — in biology
  18. content — the amount
  19. bear — the animal
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. march — the month
  22. bound — certain
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. clip — to cut

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