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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 120 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: content · wake · bound · fall · cell · game · mug · staff

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. staff — a stick
  4. bound — tied together
  5. fall — to drop
  6. staff — employees
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. fall — to drop
  11. content — the amount
  12. fall — the season
  13. staff — employees
  14. bound — obliged
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cell — in biology
  18. content — happy
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bound — certain
  22. mug — a cup
  23. mug — a face
  24. mug — to rob

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