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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: wind · band · lean · land · calf · content · key · bound

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bound — tied together
  6. wind — moving air
  7. band — a music group
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. land — to come down
  10. bound — certain
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — thin
  17. key — in music
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. bound — obliged
  21. content — the amount
  22. land — a country
  23. key — for a lock
  24. land — ground

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