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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. lean — to bend
  3. spring — of water
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. lean — thin
  8. rush — hurry
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. staff — a stick
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. wake — a trail
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. spring — a coil
  20. game — a match
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. spring — the season
  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