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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: tear · bowl · swing · bear · tube · bound · chest · cell

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bound — tied together
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. tube — a container
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bear — the animal
  20. chest — a box
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. cell — a phone

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