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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: spring · cell · march · content · toast · pop · roll · mouse

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. spring — of water
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. pop — to visit
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. march — the month
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. march — music
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. content — the amount
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. march — the month
  15. roll — a cake
  16. pop — soda
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. roll — a list
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. content — happy
  24. pop — music

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