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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
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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: cold · spring · wake · current · march · lie · bay · content

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. march — music
  4. current — happening now
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. content — the amount
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spring — a coil
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. current — of water
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. current — electric
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. march — the month
  21. lie — to recline
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. march — the month
  24. content — happy

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