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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. spring — of water
  4. craft — boats
  5. capital — a city
  6. mate — a friend
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. spring — a coil
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. craft — a skill
  15. content — the amount
  16. capital — money
  17. spring — the season
  18. rock — a stone
  19. mate — to breed
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — a safe
  24. mate — a partner

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