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

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bound — tied together
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bound — certain
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bound — obliged
  9. content — happy
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wound — an injury
  13. content — the amount
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series

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