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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. perch — the fish
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. content — happy
  5. wake — a trail
  6. spring — the season
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cue — a signal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cue — a hint
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cue — for pool
  19. date — the fruit
  20. content — the amount
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. spring — of water
  24. perch — for a bird

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