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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. cell — in biology
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cell — a phone
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spring — of water
  8. wax — to grow
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — the season
  14. staff — a stick
  15. content — happy
  16. fine — high quality
  17. degree — from a university
  18. staff — employees
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. fine — all right
  23. content — the amount
  24. staff — employees

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