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

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. spring — of water
  4. content — happy
  5. spring — the season
  6. content — the amount
  7. land — to come down
  8. mug — a face
  9. land — ground
  10. field — a subject
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. spring — a coil
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. field — for sport
  16. land — a country
  17. field — farmland
  18. mug — a cup

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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