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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: cue · content · spell · staff · bound · board · bark · court

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. content — the amount
  3. board — a committee
  4. court — for sport
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cue — a signal
  8. court — of a king
  9. spell — letters
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bark — to shout
  12. board — to get on
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. bound — certain
  18. content — happy
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cue — a hint
  21. court — of law
  22. cue — for pool
  23. spell — magic
  24. board — a flat piece

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