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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rock — music
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. spring — the season
  8. key — in music
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cell — a phone
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cell — in biology
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. spring — of water
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rock — a stone
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wake — a trail
  22. spring — a coil
  23. key — for a lock
  24. rock — to move gently

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