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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: bound · content · pitch · mark · pound · nail · net · bark

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. content — happy
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pound — a weight
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. net — in sport
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — a grade
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bound — tied together

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