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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spell — a short time
  4. band — a ring
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. ground — crushed
  7. spell — magic
  8. face — part of the head
  9. content — happy
  10. face — to point toward
  11. tube — the underground
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. ground — a position
  16. content — the amount
  17. tube — a container
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. chair — a leader
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. face — to confront
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. band — a music group
  24. ground — the earth

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