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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 116 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. row — a line
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. court — for sport
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — the underground
  12. content — happy
  13. bound — obliged
  14. face — part of the head
  15. content — the amount
  16. court — of a king
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. court — of law
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. chair — a leader
  21. face — to point toward
  22. bound — tied together
  23. face — to confront
  24. row — to paddle

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