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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — hurry
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. content — happy
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bound — tied together
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bound — certain
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. bound — obliged
  24. date — on the calendar

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