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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. net — in sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. charge — electricity
  5. net — after costs
  6. chair — a leader
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. charge — in control
  9. content — the amount
  10. wound — an injury
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bound — certain
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. charge — a price
  16. bound — tied together
  17. content — happy
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. net — for catching
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bound — obliged
  24. squash — to crush

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