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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. content — the amount
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bound — obliged
  6. chest — of your body
  7. staff — a stick
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. date — the fruit
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chest — of your body
  12. content — happy
  13. bound — tied together
  14. chair — a leader
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. chest — a box

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