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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bound — certain
  5. staff — a stick
  6. rock — music
  7. content — the amount
  8. staff — employees
  9. rock — a stone
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. march — the month
  15. can — a tin
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. staff — employees
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. can — a tin
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. content — happy
  24. rock — to move gently

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