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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. spring — a coil
  3. content — happy
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. content — the amount
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. fine — high quality
  14. spring — the season
  15. squash — the sport
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. spring — of water
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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