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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 116 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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bear — the animal
  3. tube — a container
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. content — happy
  7. tube — the underground
  8. scale — size or range
  9. content — the amount
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spell — a short time
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bear — the animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. spell — letters
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. perch — the fish
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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