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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cold — an illness
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. content — the amount
  6. rest — a break
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. bound — obliged
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bound — tied together
  11. rest — what's left
  12. content — happy
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bound — certain
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. cold — not warm
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. sharp — clever
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. jam — a tight spot

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