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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 124 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rest — a break
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. rest — what's left
  7. spring — the season
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. spell — magic
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. spring — of water
  14. tube — a container
  15. season — in sport
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. season — of the year
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. spell — a short time
  21. content — the amount
  22. spell — letters
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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