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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: swing · bound · wound · bear · pitcher · squash · pass · content

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pass — a permit
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — certain
  7. content — the amount
  8. swing — music
  9. squash — to crush
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. swing — in golf
  14. content — happy
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bound — obliged
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wound — an injury

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