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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. file — a tool
  7. bass — the fish
  8. content — the amount
  9. spring — a coil
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. chest — a box
  12. bass — low music
  13. squash — the sport
  14. file — a document
  15. chest — of your body
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spring — of water
  19. content — happy
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. file — a line of people

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