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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. chest — of your body
  3. suit — to fit
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bound — tied together
  6. suit — clothes
  7. chest — a box
  8. net — in sport
  9. cell — a phone
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. band — a music group
  12. net — after costs
  13. content — happy
  14. net — for catching
  15. chest — of your body
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bound — certain
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. band — a ring
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bound — obliged
  24. suit — in cards

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