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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. bound — certain
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. chest — a box
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. chest — of your body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. chest — of your body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bass — the fish
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. net — in sport
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bound — obliged
  22. net — after costs
  23. bass — low music
  24. rush — hurry

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