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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: row · content · bound · foot · club · pitcher · ground · chair

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bound — certain
  4. foot — a measure
  5. club — for dancing
  6. ground — a position
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. content — happy
  11. row — to paddle
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bound — tied together
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bound — obliged
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. ground — crushed
  23. row — a line
  24. content — the amount

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