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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. content — the amount
  3. spring — of water
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. can — to be able to
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. content — happy
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. season — of the year
  13. spring — a coil
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. can — a tin
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. season — in sport
  18. can — a tin
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. spring — the season
  24. cabinet — ministers

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