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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 116 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: bowl · bound · kick · rash · fall · content · cap · stem

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bound — certain
  3. rash — a series
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. fall — the season
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bound — obliged
  16. content — the amount
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. kick — in football
  20. stem — to come from
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cap — of ice
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. stem — of a plant

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