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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. chair — a leader
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. swing — to play on
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. swing — in golf
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cap — of ice
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rest — a break
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. content — happy
  22. rash — a series
  23. swing — music
  24. leaves — of a tree

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