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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — all right
  6. content — happy
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. spell — magic
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. content — the amount
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. spell — letters
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. rest — a break
  21. spell — a short time
  22. fine — high quality
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. pitcher — a jug

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