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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — size or range
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. bound — certain
  7. court — of law
  8. rock — music
  9. bound — obliged
  10. scale — in music
  11. court — of a king
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. chest — of your body
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. chest — of your body
  18. court — for sport
  19. bound — tied together
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. chest — a box
  22. swing — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. content — videos and posts

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