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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. band — a ring
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. band — a music group
  6. bound — obliged
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bound — tied together
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. rush — hurry
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. plane — a tool
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. dip — to sink

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