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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. current — happening now
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. content — the amount
  5. court — for sport
  6. swing — in golf
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. track — to keep track
  9. spell — magic
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stem — to come from
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. swing — to play on
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. current — of water
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. current — electric
  19. track — a song
  20. content — happy
  21. perch — the fish
  22. spell — a short time
  23. track — a path
  24. swing — music

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