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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bound — certain
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. content — the amount
  7. chair — a leader
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. saw — the tool
  11. content — happy
  12. chest — of your body
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chest — a box
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chest — of your body
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bound — tied together
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. bound — obliged

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