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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. net — for catching
  3. content — the amount
  4. spell — letters
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. fine — high quality
  10. pound — a weight
  11. net — after costs
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. spring — the season
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. spell — a short time
  20. roll — a cake
  21. content — happy
  22. net — in sport
  23. spell — magic
  24. spring — of water

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