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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. face — to confront
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. content — happy
  6. spell — letters
  7. ball — a dance
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. drill — army training
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. ball — a great time
  12. face — part of the head
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. spell — a short time
  16. stem — to come from
  17. spell — magic
  18. game — a match
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. face — to point toward

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