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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cell — a phone
  5. last — final
  6. spring — the season
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. spring — a coil
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — the amount
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. last — to go on
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. drill — army training
  19. pound — a weight
  20. drill — the tool
  21. spring — of water
  22. content — happy
  23. root — of a word
  24. cell — in biology

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