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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. content — the amount
  4. object — an aim
  5. present — a gift
  6. object — to protest
  7. spring — a coil
  8. land — a country
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. present — there
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. object — a thing
  14. land — ground
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cell — in biology
  17. land — to come down
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. content — happy
  21. chair — a leader
  22. spring — of water
  23. cell — a phone
  24. present — the time now

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