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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. content — happy
  5. wake — a trail
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. content — the amount
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chair — a leader
  21. spring — the season
  22. plane — a tool
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. court — for sport

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