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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bound — certain
  3. net — in sport
  4. scale — size or range
  5. squash — to crush
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. capital — a city
  9. dip — to sink
  10. net — for catching
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. chest — of your body
  14. net — after costs
  15. bound — tied together
  16. chest — of your body
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. squash — the sport
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — a cake
  23. scale — in music
  24. bound — obliged

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