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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bound — certain
  4. face — to confront
  5. content — the amount
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. face — part of the head
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. kid — child
  10. last — to go on
  11. bark — to shout
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. last — final
  15. kid — to tease
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bound — obliged
  18. plane — a tool
  19. last — finally
  20. face — to point toward
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. content — happy
  24. bound — tied together

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