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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. content — the amount
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. spell — letters
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. race — humankind
  10. spring — of water
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. spring — the season
  13. rock — a stone
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rock — music
  16. content — happy
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. race — a contest
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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