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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. content — the amount
  4. spring — a coil
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. spring — the season
  10. band — a music group
  11. spring — of water
  12. content — happy
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. band — a ring
  16. firm — steady
  17. mine — for digging
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. board — to get on
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. firm — decided
  24. board — a committee

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