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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. club — for dancing
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. face — part of the head
  6. spell — letters
  7. club — for golf
  8. drill — a practice
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a cake
  11. shower — rain
  12. face — to confront
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. content — happy
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. face — to point toward
  18. drill — the tool
  19. content — the amount
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. spell — a short time
  22. roll — a list
  23. drill — army training
  24. club — a group

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