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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
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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: pop · lean · spell · rash · content · bound · mate · land

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. spell — magic
  3. bound — obliged
  4. land — to come down
  5. lean — thin
  6. mate — a partner
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mate — a friend
  9. spell — letters
  10. pop — to visit
  11. rash — a series
  12. mate — to breed
  13. land — a country
  14. pop — music
  15. land — ground
  16. pop — soda
  17. bound — tied together
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bound — certain
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rash — hasty
  23. content — the amount
  24. lean — to rest against

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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