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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. content — happy
  3. spell — letters
  4. lie — to recline
  5. spell — a short time
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. spell — magic
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. march — music
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. craft — a skill
  15. march — the month
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. craft — boats
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. content — the amount
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. snap — to click

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