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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 · mate · chest · plane · content · temple · bat · jam

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. content — the amount
  5. spring — of water
  6. bat — the animal
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. plane — a tool
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. chest — a box
  12. mate — a friend
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. chest — of your body
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mate — to breed
  24. chest — of your body

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