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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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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 · bear · staff · snap · mine · mark · pitcher · content

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. spring — of water
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. content — the amount
  7. spring — the season
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. mark — a grade
  13. snap — to click
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bear — the animal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. staff — employees
  19. content — happy
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. mine — for digging
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bear — the animal
  24. staff — employees

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