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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. content — the amount
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cell — a phone
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cell — in biology
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bear — the animal
  23. content — happy
  24. bowl — a football final

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