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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 120 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. swing — music
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. content — happy
  6. bound — obliged
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. ground — the earth
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. capital — a city
  13. content — the amount
  14. bound — certain
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. capital — money
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. drill — a practice
  20. swing — in golf
  21. bound — tied together
  22. ground — a position
  23. swing — to play on
  24. content — videos and posts

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