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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. capital — money
  4. spell — letters
  5. charge — a price
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. firm — a company
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. firm — steady
  10. content — happy
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. spell — a short time
  13. firm — decided
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. charge — in control
  17. clip — to cut
  18. content — the amount
  19. clip — for paper
  20. capital — a city
  21. charge — electricity
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. clip — a video

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