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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bound — certain
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bound — tied together
  12. content — happy
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. date — the fruit
  16. game — a match
  17. bound — obliged
  18. fine — all right
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. content — the amount
  23. ground — a position
  24. trunk — of a tree

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