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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rule — a law
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. content — happy
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. mark — a grade
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. mark — a trace
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. content — the amount
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. rule — government
  20. lie — to recline
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. last — finally
  24. spring — the season

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