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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.

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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. face — to confront
  3. pop — soda
  4. face — part of the head
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. court — for sport
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — the fish
  12. face — to point toward
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. tube — the underground
  15. court — of a king
  16. bass — low music
  17. spring — the season
  18. court — of law
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. tube — a container
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. pop — music

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