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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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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cell — in biology
  3. spell — magic
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. drill — a practice
  6. game — a match
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. drill — the tool
  12. content — the amount
  13. spell — letters
  14. cell — a phone
  15. spell — a short time
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. drill — army training
  19. snap — to click
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. game — a kind of play

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