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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. cap — a lid
  6. row — a line
  7. spring — of water
  8. staff — employees
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. firm — steady
  11. spring — a coil
  12. firm — a company
  13. staff — a stick
  14. chair — a leader
  15. firm — decided
  16. staff — employees
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. row — to paddle
  24. jam — a tight spot

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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