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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. field — a subject
  4. capital — money
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bound — tied together
  7. field — for sport
  8. content — the amount
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. field — farmland
  15. capital — a city
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — certain
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. capital — a big letter

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