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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 · bowl · saw · rush · content · wind · fall · object

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fall — to drop
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. rush — hurry
  10. object — to protest
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. content — happy
  18. object — an aim
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bound — tied together
  21. fall — the season
  22. bound — certain
  23. object — a thing
  24. bound — obliged

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