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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. rule — government
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. content — happy
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. tear — from crying
  15. content — the amount
  16. rule — a law
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. spell — letters
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. trunk — of a car

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