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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
468
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: object · staff · row · racket · march · content · cabinet · spring

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. content — the amount
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. march — the month
  6. spring — a coil
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. march — the month
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. content — happy
  11. staff — a stick
  12. object — an aim
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. staff — employees
  16. object — a thing
  17. row — a line
  18. staff — employees
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. march — music
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. object — to protest
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. row — to paddle

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