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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. content — happy
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a lid
  8. spring — the season
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — a permit
  11. content — the amount
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — clever
  17. hand — in cards
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. spring — of water
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bowl — a football final

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