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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ground — a position
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bound — certain
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bound — obliged
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. ground — the earth
  15. squash — to crush
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. spring — the season
  20. bound — tied together
  21. spring — of water
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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