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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. season — of the year
  3. spell — letters
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. cell — a phone
  6. spell — magic
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. spell — a short time
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. content — happy
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. face — part of the head
  20. content — the amount
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. season — in sport
  23. cell — in biology
  24. calf — of the leg

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