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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. perch — the fish
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. content — happy
  9. bear — the animal
  10. content — the amount
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. board — to get on
  14. degree — temperature
  15. stand — to bear
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — a committee
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. content — videos and posts

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