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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. degree — from a university
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. content — the amount
  9. firm — steady
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. firm — decided
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. content — happy
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bound — tied together
  21. squash — to crush
  22. firm — a company
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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