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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.

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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: content · hand · rock · pass · spring · ground · clip · leaves

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. content — happy
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. content — the amount
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. hand — in cards
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. ground — a position
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. spring — of water
  16. hand — help
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. spring — the season
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rock — a stone
  22. ground — crushed
  23. rock — music
  24. ground — the earth

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