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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — a short time
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spell — letters
  5. content — happy
  6. land — to come down
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. swing — in golf
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. swing — to play on
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. land — a country
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wound — an injury
  20. content — the amount
  21. swing — music
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. land — ground
  24. tear — from crying

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