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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 was ________________ to happen.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. capital — a city
  4. bound — tied together
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. content — happy
  10. bound — obliged
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a trace
  14. content — the amount
  15. cell — in biology
  16. capital — money
  17. roll — a list
  18. wax — to grow
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. capital — a big letter

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