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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: cold · bound · march · content · plane · tube · cue · firm

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. firm — decided
  5. cue — a hint
  6. firm — a company
  7. march — music
  8. bound — certain
  9. tube — a container
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cue — a signal
  12. march — the month
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cold — an illness
  16. march — the month
  17. firm — steady
  18. tube — the underground
  19. content — the amount
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. cue — for pool
  22. bound — tied together
  23. plane — a tool
  24. cold — not warm

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