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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: straw · bear · content · spring · ball · can · last · cue

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. can — a tin
  3. ball — a dance
  4. spring — the season
  5. can — to be able to
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. last — to go on
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. content — the amount
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bear — the animal
  13. can — a tin
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. spring — of water
  17. cue — for pool
  18. last — finally
  19. cue — a signal
  20. ball — a great time
  21. last — final
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bear — the animal

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