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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. bound — obliged
  3. last — final
  4. content — happy
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bound — certain
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. spring — the season
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. content — the amount
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pound — a weight
  23. spring — of water
  24. pound — to hit hard

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