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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tube — a container
  3. march — music
  4. fine — high quality
  5. march — the month
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bore — to drill
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. fine — all right
  13. tube — the underground
  14. march — the month
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bore — to tire
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bound — certain
  22. content — the amount
  23. bound — tied together
  24. lash — to lash out

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