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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: spell · content · march · pass · kid · bound · bowl · row

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. march — the month
  4. kid — to tease
  5. spell — magic
  6. content — happy
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. content — the amount
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. pass — a permit
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. bound — obliged
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bound — certain
  18. spell — a short time
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. row — to paddle
  23. kid — child
  24. spell — letters

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