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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. saw — the tool
  3. spell — letters
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bound — certain
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bore — to tire
  8. charge — a price
  9. race — a contest
  10. bound — obliged
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bore — to drill
  14. content — the amount
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. race — humankind
  18. saw — the tool
  19. charge — in control
  20. charge — electricity
  21. spell — a short time
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. spell — magic
  24. race — the arms race

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