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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 120 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rock — music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. cap — a lid
  16. swing — to play on
  17. rock — a stone
  18. staff — employees
  19. swing — music
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. swing — in golf
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. spring — a coil

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