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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.

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: fork · row · cell · content · ball · fine · bound · game

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bound — obliged
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fine — high quality
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bound — certain
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. row — to paddle
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bound — tied together
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. game — wild animals
  13. row — a line
  14. ball — a dance
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fine — all right
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. game — a match
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. content — the amount
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. content — happy
  24. fork — in a road

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