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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. cold — not warm
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. court — of a king
  9. bound — obliged
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. court — of law
  12. dip — to sink
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. scale — in music
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. content — the amount
  17. bound — tied together
  18. press — newspapers
  19. cold — an illness
  20. press — to push
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. court — for sport
  23. press — a publisher
  24. scale — size or range

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