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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bound — obliged
  5. wound — an injury
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bound — certain
  9. rash — a series
  10. bound — tied together
  11. wound — an injury
  12. track — a path
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. track — to keep track
  19. content — the amount
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. track — a song
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. nail — for a hammer

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