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

Word bank: tube · tear · last · content · bound · ground · object · cue

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. ground — crushed
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bound — obliged
  5. last — to go on
  6. content — happy
  7. ground — a position
  8. last — final
  9. tube — a container
  10. tear — from crying
  11. last — finally
  12. object — to protest
  13. object — a thing
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. content — the amount
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. ground — the earth
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cue — a signal
  23. bound — tied together
  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