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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 116 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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. spring — the season
  3. content — happy
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mate — a partner
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. content — the amount
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bass — the fish
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. ball — a great time
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bass — low music
  17. lie — to recline
  18. ball — a dance
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. spring — of water
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mate — to breed
  24. drill — army training

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