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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bound — obliged
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bound — certain
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. ground — a position
  13. clip — a video
  14. toast — bread
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. clip — to cut
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. cell — in biology
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cell — a phone
  22. ground — crushed
  23. content — happy
  24. ruler — for measuring

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