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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. bound — certain
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. tear — from crying
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bound — obliged
  11. mate — to breed
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. mate — a friend
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — hasty
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bound — tied together
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. tear — from crying

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