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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. present — the time now
  3. kid — child
  4. present — a gift
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. content — the amount
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. present — there
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. content — happy
  13. row — a line
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — a container
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. spell — magic
  21. row — to paddle
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. spell — letters
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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