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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. firm — steady
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. present — there
  6. bound — tied together
  7. present — a gift
  8. bound — obliged
  9. firm — decided
  10. firm — a company
  11. hand — in cards
  12. present — the time now
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. content — happy
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. hand — help
  21. stock — goods
  22. content — the amount
  23. stock — shares
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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