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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bound — tied together
  3. mate — a friend
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. drill — the tool
  7. march — the month
  8. mate — a partner
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. drill — army training
  11. fall — to drop
  12. drill — a practice
  13. face — to confront
  14. mate — to breed
  15. face — to point toward
  16. last — to go on
  17. bound — obliged
  18. last — finally
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bound — certain
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. last — final
  24. content — happy

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