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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 120 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. spell — a short time
  3. bank — for money
  4. bat — the animal
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. game — a match
  8. pass — a permit
  9. content — happy
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. bank — for money
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. spell — magic
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. bank — of a river
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. spell — letters
  24. ruler — for measuring

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