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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. row — a line
  3. spell — a short time
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. lie — to recline
  6. spell — magic
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. content — happy
  9. land — ground
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. object — an aim
  13. pitch — completely
  14. land — a country
  15. land — to come down
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. object — a thing
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — the amount
  22. spell — letters
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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