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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 reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bound — certain
  5. wound — an injury
  6. content — happy
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. perch — the fish
  13. mate — a friend
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mate — to breed
  17. content — the amount
  18. bound — obliged
  19. chair — a leader
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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