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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · wake · fan · content · chest · pop

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. spring — a coil
  3. content — happy
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spring — the season
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. chest — a box
  9. spring — of water
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pop — soda
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. pop — to visit
  15. content — the amount
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pop — music
  18. fan — a supporter

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