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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. content — the amount
  4. spring — of water
  5. staff — employees
  6. content — happy
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bank — for money
  10. spring — a coil
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bank — for money
  14. staff — employees
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bank — of a river
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. spring — the season
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. stem — of a plant

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