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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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Word bank
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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. game — a match
  9. rash — a series
  10. ball — a dance
  11. season — in sport
  12. bear — the animal
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ball — a great time
  16. content — the amount
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. content — happy
  23. season — of the year
  24. fan — a supporter

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