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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bound — tied together
  3. content — happy
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. content — the amount
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. net — after costs
  8. cold — not warm
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rush — hurry
  13. board — to get on
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. net — for catching
  16. bound — certain
  17. court — of a king
  18. bound — obliged
  19. court — of law
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. court — for sport
  24. board — a committee

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