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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. spell — magic
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. spell — letters
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — to protest
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bark — to shout
  12. object — a thing
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. content — happy
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. swing — music
  22. content — the amount
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. spell — a short time

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