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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. spell — letters
  3. bound — certain
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bank — for money
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. spell — magic
  10. bound — obliged
  11. season — of the year
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bank — of a river
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. season — in sport
  17. bank — for money
  18. content — the amount
  19. bound — tied together
  20. content — happy
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bark — to shout

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