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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. content — happy
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. spring — of water
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. cell — in biology
  10. race — humankind
  11. snap — to click
  12. race — the arms race
  13. content — the amount
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. race — a contest
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bear — the animal
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bear — the animal
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. content — videos and posts

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