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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. content — the amount
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. spring — the season
  5. pop — music
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. spring — of water
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bulb — for light
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bulb — for light
  13. kick — in football
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. spring — a coil
  20. content — happy
  21. pop — soda
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bear — the animal
  24. straw — dry grass

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