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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. spring — a coil
  3. prune — to trim
  4. can — a tin
  5. spring — the season
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — happy
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. content — the amount
  17. can — a tin
  18. spring — of water
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. band — a ring
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. can — to be able to
  24. band — a music group

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