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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. face — to point toward
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spell — a short time
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. face — to confront
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. chest — a box
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. spell — letters
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. face — part of the head
  20. content — happy
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. content — the amount
  24. band — a music group

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