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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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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fine — all right
  3. firm — steady
  4. club — for dancing
  5. spring — the season
  6. stem — to come from
  7. spring — a coil
  8. squash — to crush
  9. content — the amount
  10. club — a group
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to drill
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. spring — of water
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. firm — a company
  19. firm — decided
  20. club — for golf
  21. squash — the sport
  22. fine — high quality
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bore — to tire

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