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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pit — in a race
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bound — tied together
  5. kid — child
  6. squash — to crush
  7. pit — a hole
  8. mate — to breed
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mate — a partner
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bound — obliged
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. rash — a series
  17. squash — the sport
  18. mate — a friend
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bound — certain
  21. content — the amount
  22. rash — hasty
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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