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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. content — happy
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bound — certain
  6. wound — an injury
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. band — a music group
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. content — the amount
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rush — hurry
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. fine — all right

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