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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: date · present · content · chair · sharp · hand · tear · bound

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — the time now
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. sharp — clever
  7. present — there
  8. date — the fruit
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. hand — help
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. content — the amount
  18. bound — tied together
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. content — happy
  22. hand — in cards
  23. tear — from crying
  24. date — on the calendar

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