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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: snap · sharp · drill · game · content · ball · last · bound

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. last — finally
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. content — happy
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. drill — the tool
  9. sharp — clever
  10. last — to go on
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. game — a match
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — army training
  17. bound — certain
  18. content — the amount
  19. last — final
  20. bound — tied together
  21. ball — a great time
  22. snap — to click
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bound — obliged

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