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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rest — a break
  3. spring — of water
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. rest — what's left
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — in golf
  9. ground — crushed
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rash — a series
  13. rest — what's left
  14. swing — music
  15. content — the amount
  16. ground — a position
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cap — a lid
  19. spring — the season
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cap — of ice
  22. content — happy
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cabinet — ministers

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