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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. deal — to handle
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. spell — magic
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — a cake
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. shower — to wash
  15. ball — a great time
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. spell — letters
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. spell — a short time
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. content — happy

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