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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. spell — letters
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. content — happy
  6. object — a thing
  7. cell — in biology
  8. content — the amount
  9. spell — a short time
  10. object — an aim
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bark — to shout
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. object — to protest

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