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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bound — obliged
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. suit — clothes
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. suit — in cards
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. cold — an illness
  9. suit — to fit
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bound — tied together
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bound — certain
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. last — final

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