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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. spring — a coil
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. tube — a container
  5. bound — tied together
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. content — the amount
  9. hand — help
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. bound — certain
  14. toast — bread
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bound — obliged
  17. content — happy
  18. track — a path
  19. hand — in cards
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. track — a song
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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