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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mark — a grade
  3. tube — a container
  4. season — of the year
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. content — the amount
  7. bear — the animal
  8. spell — letters
  9. game — a match
  10. wound — an injury
  11. content — happy
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. spell — magic
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bear — the animal
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wound — an injury
  22. season — in sport
  23. spell — a short time
  24. mark — a trace

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