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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. spring — the season
  7. snap — to click
  8. face — to confront
  9. stock — shares
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cell — a phone
  12. tube — a container
  13. content — the amount
  14. face — to point toward
  15. spring — of water
  16. stock — goods
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. cell — in biology
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. face — part of the head

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