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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: suit · stock · spell · cold · bore · spring · content · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cold — an illness
  3. suit — in cards
  4. suit — clothes
  5. stock — shares
  6. spring — the season
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. cold — not warm
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — happy
  11. bore — to drill
  12. spell — a short time
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. suit — to fit
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bore — to tire
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. spring — a coil
  20. stock — goods
  21. content — the amount
  22. spring — of water
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — letters

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