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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: bound · pop · arm · cold · row · rush · date · content

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cold — not warm
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bound — obliged
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. content — the amount
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bound — certain
  12. rush — hurry
  13. pop — soda
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. pop — music
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. content — happy
  18. cold — an illness
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. row — a line
  22. bound — tied together
  23. pop — to visit
  24. arm — part of the body

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