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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bound — obliged
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. staff — employees
  5. content — the amount
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. club — for dancing
  8. staff — a stick
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — certain
  12. staff — employees
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. foot — a measure
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. net — after costs

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