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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. spell — a short time
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. rash — a series
  6. present — there
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. spell — letters
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. present — the time now
  11. spell — magic
  12. perch — the fish
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. content — happy
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. rash — hasty
  17. mark — a trace
  18. present — a gift
  19. season — of the year
  20. pound — a weight
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. content — the amount
  23. mark — a grade
  24. season — in sport

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