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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — tied together
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. wind — moving air
  8. content — the amount
  9. wind — moving air
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. content — happy
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. rock — a stone
  16. last — final
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. squash — the sport
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bound — certain
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. rock — to move gently

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