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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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. spell — letters
  2. content — the amount
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. spell — a short time
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spell — magic
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. content — happy
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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