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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. suit — clothes
  4. suit — to fit
  5. ball — a dance
  6. land — a country
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. land — to come down
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. ball — a great time
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. land — ground
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — the season
  20. content — the amount
  21. spring — of water
  22. tube — a container
  23. spring — a coil
  24. suit — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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