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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 120 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: last · kid · staff · content · can · spring · racket · rule

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. kid — child
  5. content — happy
  6. last — finally
  7. staff — employees
  8. can — a tin
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. kid — to tease
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. can — a tin
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rule — government
  18. rule — a law
  19. staff — a stick
  20. can — to be able to
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. spring — of water
  24. staff — employees

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