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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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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. spring — of water
  3. content — the amount
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. land — a country
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mark — a grade
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — ground
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mug — a face
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. mug — a cup
  18. nail — for a hammer

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