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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. rule — a law
  4. rest — what's left
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bound — tied together
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bound — obliged
  10. rest — what's left
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. court — of a king
  16. tear — to rip
  17. court — for sport
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rest — a break
  20. bound — certain
  21. content — the amount
  22. rule — government
  23. lie — to recline
  24. court — of law

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