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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bound — certain
  4. cap — a lid
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. spell — letters
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spell — magic
  10. content — the amount
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bound — obliged
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. spell — a short time
  15. cap — of ice
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cap — a hat
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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