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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. land — a country
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. land — ground
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spell — magic
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. branch — a division
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. land — to come down
  12. content — the amount
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wound — an injury
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. content — happy
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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