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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 120 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bank — for money
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bound — obliged
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — a series
  8. can — a tin
  9. bank — of a river
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bank — for money
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. content — happy
  17. bound — tied together
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. tear — from crying
  20. can — a tin
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bound — certain
  23. can — to be able to
  24. cap — a lid

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