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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. pass — a permit
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. clip — a video
  7. last — to go on
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. bound — tied together
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bound — certain
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. clip — to cut
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. bound — obliged
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. arm — a part of something

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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