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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  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. bound — obliged
  2. last — to go on
  3. bound — certain
  4. game — wild animals
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. current — of water
  7. content — happy
  8. last — finally
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. content — the amount
  11. last — final
  12. bound — tied together
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. court — of law
  18. game — a match
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. current — electric
  22. current — happening now
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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