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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. content — the amount
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. current — of water
  8. bound — tied together
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. press — a publisher
  12. current — electric
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mark — a grade
  15. bound — obliged
  16. press — to push
  17. mark — a trace
  18. chest — of your body
  19. press — newspapers
  20. hand — in cards
  21. content — happy
  22. hand — help
  23. current — happening now
  24. bound — certain

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