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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. spring — of water
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. net — after costs
  6. content — the amount
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. content — happy
  10. saw — the tool
  11. stem — to come from
  12. shower — to wash
  13. net — for catching
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bulb — for light
  16. spring — a coil
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. swing — to play on
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bulb — for light
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. shower — rain
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. spring — the season

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