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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bound — certain
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. chest — of your body
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — the amount
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. hand — help
  11. can — a tin
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. chip — for betting
  16. bound — tied together
  17. land — a country
  18. bound — obliged
  19. content — happy
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. chest — a box
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chest — of your body

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