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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wake — a trail
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bound — tied together
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. chair — a leader
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bound — obliged
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. foot — a measure
  18. bound — certain
  19. content — the amount
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. march — music
  22. track — a song
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a path

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