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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. toast — bread
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. spring — of water
  6. charge — in control
  7. game — a match
  8. spring — a coil
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. content — the amount
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. game — wild animals
  15. content — happy
  16. spring — the season
  17. charge — a price
  18. file — a tool
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. file — a line of people
  21. charge — electricity
  22. file — a document
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. row — a quarrel

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