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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. swing — music
  5. net — for catching
  6. bound — obliged
  7. content — happy
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. net — in sport
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. net — after costs
  18. bound — certain
  19. content — the amount
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mark — a grade
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bound — tied together
  24. mark — a trace

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