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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. game — wild animals
  3. roll — a cake
  4. content — happy
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. content — the amount
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. season — of the year
  19. fork — in a road
  20. season — in sport
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. game — a match
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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