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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. content — happy
  3. land — ground
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. content — the amount
  6. bear — the animal
  7. toast — bread
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bear — the animal
  10. land — a country
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. land — to come down
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. spring — the season
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. spring — of water
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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