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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. staff — employees
  3. face — part of the head
  4. drill — the tool
  5. scale — size or range
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. face — to confront
  10. staff — a stick
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. content — happy
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — tied together
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. staff — employees
  21. face — to point toward
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. scale — in music

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