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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. rest — a break
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. content — the amount
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. spell — letters
  11. content — happy
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. rest — what's left
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — a match
  18. game — wild animals
  19. rest — what's left
  20. kick — in football
  21. spell — a short time
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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