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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 116 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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. fork — in a road
  3. spell — letters
  4. tube — the underground
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stand — to bear
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. field — a subject
  9. tube — a container
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. content — happy
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. field — for sport
  18. prune — to trim
  19. field — farmland
  20. spell — a short time
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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