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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. spell — letters
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. spell — a short time
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. fall — to drop
  10. sharp — clever
  11. content — happy
  12. fall — the season
  13. wound — an injury
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. squash — the sport
  17. spell — magic
  18. fall — to drop
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. wound — an injury
  24. content — the amount

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