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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. shower — to wash
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. track — a path
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. cue — for pool
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cue — a hint
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bound — obliged
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. content — the amount
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bound — tied together
  20. snap — to click
  21. track — to keep track
  22. content — happy
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. track — a song

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