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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bound — obliged
  3. content — happy
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. present — there
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. present — a gift
  10. march — the month
  11. content — the amount
  12. march — the month
  13. ball — a great time
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — for betting
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bound — certain
  22. present — the time now
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. march — music

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