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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bound — obliged
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. bound — tied together
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mate — a partner
  18. rush — hurry
  19. content — the amount
  20. bound — certain
  21. kick — in football
  22. content — happy
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. content — videos and posts

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