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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. mug — a face
  3. pop — soda
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. band — a music group
  7. spring — the season
  8. chair — a leader
  9. pop — to visit
  10. content — happy
  11. rush — hurry
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. pop — music
  15. mug — to rob
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. band — a ring
  18. swing — music
  19. content — the amount
  20. mug — a cup
  21. swing — to play on
  22. spring — a coil
  23. swing — in golf
  24. spring — of water

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