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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — a trail
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. content — the amount
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. spring — the season
  7. bulb — for light
  8. content — happy
  9. clip — a video
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. clip — to cut
  12. spring — of water
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. clip — for paper
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bulb — for light
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. mouse — for a computer

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