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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bound — obliged
  4. stand — to bear
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bound — tied together
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. content — the amount
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. clip — a video
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ball — a dance
  17. drill — a practice
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. ball — a great time
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. bound — certain
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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