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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stem — to come from
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. net — for catching
  6. ground — the earth
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. drill — the tool
  10. tube — the underground
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bound — tied together
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. content — the amount
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bound — obliged
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. tube — a container
  24. bound — certain

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