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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. track — a path
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — tied together
  8. rash — hasty
  9. fork — in a road
  10. content — happy
  11. chest — of your body
  12. track — a song
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. content — the amount
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. chest — of your body
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. track — to keep track
  20. rash — a series
  21. bound — certain
  22. deal — to handle
  23. clip — a video
  24. chest — a box

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