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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — letters
  4. cell — in biology
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. present — the time now
  7. bound — obliged
  8. present — there
  9. present — a gift
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bound — certain
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bound — tied together
  14. content — the amount
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. content — happy
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fork — in a road
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cell — a phone
  24. spell — magic

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