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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: bound · content · land · rock · can · jam · arm · bat

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. land — to come down
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. rock — a stone
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. land — a country
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. can — a tin
  14. bound — certain
  15. rock — music
  16. bat — the animal
  17. can — to be able to
  18. land — ground
  19. can — a tin
  20. bound — tied together
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bound — obliged

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