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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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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spell — magic
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — for money
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. object — an aim
  9. object — to protest
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. spell — letters
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — the tool
  16. kid — child
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. bank — of a river
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. object — a thing
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. kid — to tease

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