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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 120 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. content — happy
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. rest — a break
  8. squash — to crush
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bulb — for light
  11. content — the amount
  12. spell — letters
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. drill — a practice
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. spring — the season
  24. squash — the sport

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