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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. last — finally
  3. wind — moving air
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. content — happy
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. spell — magic
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cue — for pool
  11. last — final
  12. cue — a hint
  13. mark — a grade
  14. content — the amount
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. spell — a short time
  17. mark — a trace
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. last — to go on
  20. cue — a signal
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. leaves — lets stay

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