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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. kid — child
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. roll — a cake
  5. rule — government
  6. content — happy
  7. rest — a break
  8. rule — a law
  9. net — for catching
  10. bound — certain
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. net — in sport
  13. roll — a list
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. net — after costs
  18. bark — to shout
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. rest — what's left

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