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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: content · court · last · kick · tube · bound · cold · band

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. court — for sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bound — tied together
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. court — of a king
  16. kick — in football
  17. last — finally
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. tube — the underground
  20. court — of law
  21. content — happy
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — not warm

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