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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. spell — magic
  3. roll — a cake
  4. content — happy
  5. content — the amount
  6. branch — a division
  7. spell — a short time
  8. degree — from a university
  9. present — there
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. present — the time now
  14. degree — temperature
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. spell — letters
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. degree — an amount
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. present — a gift
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. content — videos and posts

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