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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. content — happy
  4. last — to go on
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bound — obliged
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. key — in music
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. club — for dancing
  14. key — the most important part
  15. club — for golf
  16. row — to paddle
  17. club — a group
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. last — finally
  21. row — a line
  22. press — to push
  23. last — final
  24. press — newspapers

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