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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 120 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. content — happy
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bound — tied together
  6. band — a music group
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bound — obliged
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. band — a ring
  12. content — the amount
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. chip — for betting
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bound — certain

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