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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. content — the amount
  3. spring — of water
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. content — happy
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. spring — the season
  24. chest — of your body

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