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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bound — tied together
  3. craft — a skill
  4. march — music
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bound — certain
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. craft — boats
  12. bat — the animal
  13. stock — goods
  14. march — the month
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. content — happy
  17. bound — obliged
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. march — the month
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. board — a committee

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