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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: wound · tube · cell · content · swing · pop · bear · board

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. content — happy
  2. cell — in biology
  3. swing — in golf
  4. tube — a container
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. pop — soda
  9. content — the amount
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. board — a committee
  14. bear — the animal
  15. board — to get on
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pop — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. swing — music
  22. tube — the underground
  23. wound — an injury
  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