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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. fall — the season
  4. content — happy
  5. kid — to tease
  6. content — the amount
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chip — for betting
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chip — to eat
  14. can — to be able to
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. spring — a coil
  19. kid — child
  20. spring — of water
  21. wound — an injury
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. fall — to drop

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