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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rash — hasty
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bound — tied together
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. rash — a series
  10. ground — a position
  11. bound — certain
  12. spell — magic
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. mate — to breed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bound — obliged
  19. mate — a friend
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wax — to grow
  23. ground — crushed
  24. mate — a partner

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