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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. object — to protest
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. last — final
  5. band — a ring
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. object — an aim
  8. last — finally
  9. content — the amount
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. object — a thing
  15. plane — a tool
  16. tube — a container
  17. bound — obliged
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. tube — the underground
  22. bound — certain
  23. last — to go on
  24. bound — tied together

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