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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. spring — the season
  6. capital — a city
  7. march — the month
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. spring — of water
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bass — the fish
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. march — the month
  21. capital — money
  22. march — music
  23. bass — low music
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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