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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: ruler · mate · wound · bass · bound · bark · content · cell

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bound — tied together
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. content — happy
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bound — certain
  7. wound — an injury
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. mate — to breed
  10. content — the amount
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. cell — a phone
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bound — obliged
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. mate — a partner
  20. bass — low music
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mate — a friend
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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