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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. capital — money
  3. bound — obliged
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bound — certain
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. content — happy
  8. firm — steady
  9. degree — temperature
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. content — the amount
  14. cold — not warm
  15. firm — decided
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hand — in cards
  18. degree — from a university
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. firm — a company
  21. degree — an amount
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. capital — a city
  24. hand — help

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