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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. last — finally
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. spell — a short time
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. roll — a cake
  7. spell — magic
  8. roll — a list
  9. band — a ring
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. content — the amount
  17. band — a music group
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. spell — letters
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. band — a rubber band

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