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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. content — happy
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pop — soda
  5. last — to go on
  6. bound — certain
  7. snap — to click
  8. object — a thing
  9. pop — music
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. object — to protest
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bound — tied together
  14. last — finally
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — to crush
  23. last — final
  24. squash — the sport

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