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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
468
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: cabinet · fine · wound · content · field · spring · prune · cell

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wound — an injury
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. field — a subject
  7. cell — a phone
  8. field — farmland
  9. content — the amount
  10. fine — all right
  11. content — happy
  12. spring — the season
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. field — for sport
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cell — in biology
  24. content — videos and posts

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