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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. content — happy
  6. staff — a stick
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bass — low music
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. sharp — clever
  11. toast — bread
  12. pit — in a race
  13. spring — the season
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bore — to drill
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. spring — a coil
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. bore — to tire
  24. content — the amount

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