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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: bulb · rule · ball · bound · bark · file · row · content

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bound — tied together
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bulb — for light
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bound — certain
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rule — a law
  17. file — a tool
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. content — happy
  21. rule — government
  22. content — the amount
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bound — obliged

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