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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. content — happy
  3. bound — obliged
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pop — soda
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bound — tied together
  9. track — a song
  10. shower — rain
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. rest — what's left
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bound — certain
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pop — to visit
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. pop — music
  22. track — to keep track
  23. content — the amount
  24. track — a path

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