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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bound — certain
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — happy
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. staff — employees
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bound — tied together
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a dance
  15. staff — a stick
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bound — obliged
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. patient — a sick person

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