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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. face — to point toward
  5. content — the amount
  6. face — to confront
  7. content — happy
  8. can — a tin
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. can — a tin
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. chest — of your body
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. spring — of water
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. chest — a box
  19. prune — to trim
  20. face — part of the head
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. can — to be able to
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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