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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. bound — certain
  4. spring — a coil
  5. content — happy
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bound — obliged
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — to eat
  10. track — a song
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. spring — of water
  15. track — a path
  16. bound — tied together
  17. saw — the tool
  18. content — the amount
  19. roll — a list
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. roll — a cake
  22. track — to keep track
  23. spring — the season
  24. saw — the tool

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