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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 120 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: content · track · firm · bound · snap · foot · tear · spring

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. firm — decided
  3. foot — a measure
  4. content — happy
  5. snap — to click
  6. track — a path
  7. track — a song
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. tear — from crying
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. track — to keep track
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — a company
  18. content — the amount
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spring — of water
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bound — tied together
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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