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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. bat — the animal
  4. spring — of water
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. spring — a coil
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. spring — the season
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. lean — thin
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bear — the animal
  24. content — happy

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