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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: spell · bound · net · content · staff · hide · vault · cold

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. bound — certain
  4. content — happy
  5. bound — obliged
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — a safe
  10. content — the amount
  11. net — after costs
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. spell — magic
  14. net — for catching
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bound — tied together
  17. cold — an illness
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. net — in sport
  20. spell — letters
  21. staff — a stick
  22. spell — a short time
  23. hide — animal skin
  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