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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 124 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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. face — to point toward
  3. clip — a video
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. staff — employees
  6. clip — for paper
  7. content — happy
  8. face — part of the head
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. fork — in a road
  14. content — the amount
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bound — certain
  22. clip — to cut
  23. face — to confront
  24. bound — obliged

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