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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. spell — magic
  4. bound — certain
  5. present — a gift
  6. chip — to eat
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bound — obliged
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spell — a short time
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bound — tied together
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. present — there
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. rule — government
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. present — the time now
  22. spell — letters
  23. rule — a law
  24. temple — side of the head

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