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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 120 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bound — obliged
  5. last — final
  6. bound — tied together
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pound — a weight
  9. last — finally
  10. bound — certain
  11. content — happy
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. rest — a break
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. tube — the underground
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. rest — what's left
  22. last — to go on
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. snap — to click

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