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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cue — a signal
  3. ball — a dance
  4. content — the amount
  5. net — after costs
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bulb — for light
  8. ball — a great time
  9. net — for catching
  10. file — a document
  11. bound — certain
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — for pool
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bulb — for light
  16. net — in sport
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. ball — a round shape

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