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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. content — happy
  3. bank — of a river
  4. spring — the season
  5. hand — help
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bank — for money
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. game — a match
  14. bank — for money
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a trace
  17. content — the amount
  18. spring — a coil
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. spring — of water
  22. ground — crushed
  23. game — wild animals
  24. kick — in football

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