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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. spring — of water
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bear — the animal
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. can — to be able to
  8. spring — a coil
  9. saw — the tool
  10. content — happy
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. can — a tin
  15. cold — not warm
  16. saw — the tool
  17. spring — the season
  18. can — a tin

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