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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 116 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bound — tied together
  3. chair — a leader
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — a weight
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. content — happy
  9. content — the amount
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. band — a ring
  14. cold — an illness
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. fine — all right
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. bound — certain
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bound — obliged
  22. band — a music group
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. cold — the Cold War

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