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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spring — of water
  4. content — the amount
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cue — for pool
  8. can — to be able to
  9. cue — a hint
  10. wound — an injury
  11. can — a tin
  12. bear — the animal
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. branch — a division
  17. spring — the season
  18. saw — the tool
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bear — the animal
  21. can — a tin
  22. cue — a signal
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bear — to put up with

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