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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bound · field · date · toast · content · roll · row · squash

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. roll — a list
  3. bound — tied together
  4. date — the fruit
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. content — the amount
  7. roll — a cake
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. field — a subject
  11. toast — bread
  12. squash — the sport
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. content — happy
  15. field — for sport
  16. row — a line
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. squash — to crush
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bound — obliged
  23. field — farmland
  24. squash — the vegetable

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