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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. spring — the season
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — a trail
  5. spring — a coil
  6. content — the amount
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pound — a weight
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. content — happy
  16. cell — in biology
  17. squash — the sport
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. tear — to rip
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. squash — to crush
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. spring — of water

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