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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. mate — a partner
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — in music
  6. content — happy
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. band — a ring
  9. content — the amount
  10. rock — music
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. mate — to breed
  15. rock — a stone
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bulb — for light
  19. file — a document
  20. spring — the season
  21. band — a music group
  22. spring — of water
  23. mate — a friend
  24. file — a tool

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