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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  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. bound — obliged
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stand — to bear
  5. content — happy
  6. game — a match
  7. bound — tied together
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bound — certain
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. bass — low music
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. date — the fruit
  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