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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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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: rule · swing · bound · court · fork · band · pound · content

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. content — the amount
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. swing — in golf
  6. bound — certain
  7. band — a music group
  8. content — happy
  9. swing — music
  10. court — of law
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bound — tied together
  14. band — a ring
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. court — of a king
  18. pound — a weight
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bound — obliged
  21. court — for sport
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. swing — to play on
  24. rule — government

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