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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. content — the amount
  4. vault — a safe
  5. stock — goods
  6. bound — tied together
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. content — happy
  15. rash — hasty
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bound — obliged
  18. stock — shares

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