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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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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 · fall · bowl · pass · wind · lash · content · cell

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. pass — a permit
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spring — of water
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. spring — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. fall — the season
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. cell — a phone
  24. lash — an eyelash

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