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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 116 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. spring — a coil
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. season — in sport
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. spring — the season
  9. march — the month
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. land — ground
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. march — music
  16. season — of the year
  17. content — happy
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. land — to come down
  21. pound — a weight
  22. march — the month
  23. land — a country
  24. spring — of water

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