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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. spell — letters
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. present — there
  9. land — ground
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. content — the amount
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. spell — magic
  14. court — for sport
  15. land — a country
  16. content — happy
  17. court — of law
  18. lie — to recline
  19. present — the time now
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. present — a gift
  22. stand — to bear
  23. land — to come down
  24. court — of a king

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