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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 116 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: spring · suit · cell · wax · content · game · ball · cap

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. cap — a hat
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cell — in biology
  7. content — happy
  8. ball — a great time
  9. spring — of water
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. suit — clothes
  12. cap — a lid
  13. game — wild animals
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. suit — to fit
  18. content — the amount
  19. cap — of ice
  20. suit — in cards
  21. spring — the season
  22. ball — a dance
  23. wax — to grow
  24. ball — a round shape

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