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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. spring — of water
  3. roll — a cake
  4. content — happy
  5. ball — a dance
  6. swing — in golf
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. spring — the season
  9. root — the cause
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. content — the amount
  14. rash — a series
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a great time
  20. root — of a plant
  21. roll — a list
  22. root — of a word
  23. spring — a coil
  24. swing — music

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