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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. bank — for money
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. spring — of water
  5. cell — in biology
  6. content — happy
  7. spring — the season
  8. staff — employees
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to click
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. cue — for pool
  13. content — the amount
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cue — a signal
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bank — for money
  19. staff — a stick
  20. cue — a hint
  21. staff — employees
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bank — of a river
  24. content — videos and posts

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