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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  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. roll — a list
  2. bear — the animal
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. bear — the animal
  5. lean — to bend
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. content — happy
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spring — the season
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. content — the amount
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. spring — of water
  20. hand — help
  21. mate — a friend
  22. lean — thin
  23. roll — a cake
  24. spring — a coil

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