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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. perch — the fish
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mine — for digging
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. content — happy
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. kick — in football
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. spring — a coil
  24. content — the amount

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