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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bound — obliged
  3. tube — a container
  4. date — the fruit
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bound — certain
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. stock — shares
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bulb — for light
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. content — the amount
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stock — goods
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. content — happy
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bulb — for light
  24. game — a match

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