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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. row — to paddle
  3. content — the amount
  4. march — music
  5. land — a country
  6. swing — music
  7. spring — the season
  8. band — a music group
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. spring — of water
  18. band — a ring
  19. row — a line
  20. land — to come down
  21. march — the month
  22. land — ground
  23. march — the month
  24. content — happy

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