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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bound — tied together
  3. game — a match
  4. pop — to visit
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. pop — music
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bound — certain
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bear — the animal
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pop — soda
  24. game — a kind of play

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