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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. tube — the underground
  3. land — to come down
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bound — obliged
  6. drill — the tool
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. drill — a practice
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bound — certain
  12. clip — a video
  13. roll — a list
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. roll — a cake
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. drill — army training
  20. tube — a container
  21. land — a country
  22. content — happy
  23. clip — for paper
  24. lie — to recline

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