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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. content — happy
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — the amount
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. spell — a short time
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bound — tied together
  17. hand — help
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. spell — magic
  20. hand — in cards
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. spell — letters
  24. hand — part of the body

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