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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bound — tied together
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pit — in a race
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bound — obliged
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pop — soda
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. pop — music
  19. pit — a hole
  20. content — the amount
  21. pop — to visit
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bound — certain
  24. trunk — of a car

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