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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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. content — videos and posts
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. content — the amount
  6. kid — child
  7. root — of a plant
  8. content — happy
  9. spell — letters
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — to tease
  12. spell — magic
  13. root — of a word
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. root — the cause
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. wind — moving air
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cell — a phone
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cell — in biology
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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