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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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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: cell · wind · bound · bowl · bay · game · rule · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bound — certain
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — government
  17. game — a match
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bound — tied together
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. content — the amount
  24. bowl — to roll

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