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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  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. spring — a coil
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. cue — a signal
  9. file — a document
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. file — a tool
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a hint
  19. content — the amount
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bear — the animal
  22. spring — the season
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  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