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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 124 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. ground — a position
  6. march — the month
  7. spell — letters
  8. wound — an injury
  9. march — music
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. spell — magic
  12. last — to go on
  13. content — the amount
  14. bulb — for light
  15. perch — the fish
  16. ground — the earth
  17. content — happy
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. last — final
  23. march — the month
  24. bulb — for light

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