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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. spring — of water
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. march — the month
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. content — the amount
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. kick — in football
  9. shower — to wash
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. present — the time now
  12. march — the month
  13. content — happy
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. chair — a leader
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. present — there
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the sport
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. march — music
  24. shower — rain

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