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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. spring — the season
  4. content — happy
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. tube — the underground
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. spring — of water
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. cap — a lid
  18. content — the amount
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. spring — a coil
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. tube — a container

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