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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. can — a tin
  3. spring — a coil
  4. pop — music
  5. spring — the season
  6. pit — a hole
  7. can — a tin
  8. content — happy
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. bat — the animal
  12. content — the amount
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. can — to be able to
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pit — in a race
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pop — soda

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