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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. band — a ring
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lie — to recline
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. band — a music group
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. spell — a short time
  13. content — happy
  14. spell — magic
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a skill
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. prune — to trim
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spell — letters

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