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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. content — the amount
  3. fall — to drop
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. firm — a company
  7. content — happy
  8. spell — a short time
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. spell — letters
  11. dip — to sink
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. firm — steady
  14. ball — a dance
  15. mine — for digging
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. ball — a great time
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. firm — decided

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