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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spring — of water
  3. object — to protest
  4. content — happy
  5. spring — the season
  6. hand — help
  7. bound — tied together
  8. content — the amount
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rock — a stone
  11. object — a thing
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bound — obliged
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. rock — music
  19. object — an aim
  20. spring — a coil
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. foot — a measure
  23. bound — certain
  24. foot — part of the body

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