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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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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: cell · race · hide · content · pitch · bear · march · bound

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. race — a contest
  6. march — the month
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bear — the animal
  10. race — the arms race
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. march — music
  13. bear — the animal
  14. race — humankind
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. content — the amount
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bound — certain
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. content — happy
  23. march — the month
  24. content — videos and posts

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