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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. land — ground
  3. cap — a lid
  4. content — the amount
  5. swing — music
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. land — to come down
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. spell — a short time
  10. swing — to play on
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. row — a line
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cap — of ice
  16. content — happy
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spell — magic
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. cap — a hat
  22. sharp — clever
  23. swing — in golf
  24. land — a country

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