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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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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. spell — letters
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bound — obliged
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. spell — a short time
  13. date — the fruit
  14. spell — magic
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. content — the amount

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