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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. spring — a coil
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. scale — size or range
  6. spring — the season
  7. bear — the animal
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. spring — of water
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a dance
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. ball — a great time
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. content — the amount
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. bear — the animal

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