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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — a short time
  3. land — to come down
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. land — ground
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chip — to eat
  8. degree — from a university
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. land — a country
  12. chip — for betting
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. mark — a trace
  16. capital — money
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. spell — letters
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. capital — a city
  24. chip — in a computer

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