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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spell — magic
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. content — happy
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fork — in a road
  11. spell — letters
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. content — the amount
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. rush — hurry
  21. cell — in biology
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. drill — the tool
  24. calf — a young animal

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