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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wind — moving air
  4. content — the amount
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cell — in biology
  11. content — happy
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pound — a weight
  18. leaves — of a tree

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