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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 116 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bound — obliged
  5. fork — in a road
  6. lie — to recline
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. content — the amount
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bound — certain
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. plane — a tool
  20. bound — tied together
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. pitcher — a jug

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