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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. spell — letters
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wind — moving air
  11. saw — the tool
  12. roll — a cake
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. saw — the tool
  16. stem — to come from
  17. roll — a list
  18. wind — moving air
  19. content — the amount
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. ground — a position
  22. content — happy
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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