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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 120 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. face — part of the head
  6. content — happy
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mug — a face
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mug — to rob
  13. spring — of water
  14. face — to confront
  15. current — electric
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. current — of water
  19. capital — money
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. current — happening now
  23. capital — a city
  24. spring — the season

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