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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bound — obliged
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bound — tied together
  6. file — a line of people
  7. hand — help
  8. bound — certain
  9. swing — to play on
  10. file — a document
  11. bear — the animal
  12. swing — in golf
  13. content — happy
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. sharp — clever
  17. swing — music
  18. bear — the animal
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. file — a tool
  21. content — the amount
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. sharp — with an edge

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