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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spring — the season
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. content — happy
  5. spring — of water
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spell — a short time
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. suit — in cards
  12. pop — to visit
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — of a plant
  15. scale — size or range
  16. root — the cause
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mine — for digging
  19. content — the amount
  20. scale — in music
  21. suit — to fit
  22. spell — magic
  23. suit — clothes
  24. mine — an explosive

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