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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. content — the amount
  4. chip — for betting
  5. snap — to click
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. toast — bread
  8. chip — to eat
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. rush — hurry
  12. tear — from crying
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. content — happy
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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