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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. last — finally
  3. spell — magic
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. spell — letters
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. kick — in football
  8. hand — help
  9. last — final
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wound — an injury
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. content — the amount
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. spell — a short time
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — for betting
  18. ball — a great time
  19. wound — an injury
  20. last — to go on
  21. content — happy
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ball — a dance

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