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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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: bound · mine · chip · bear · content · cold · pitcher · club

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bound — certain
  8. chip — to eat
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. content — happy
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bound — obliged
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mine — for digging
  17. club — a group
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bound — tied together
  22. content — the amount
  23. bear — the animal
  24. content — videos and posts

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