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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. wound — an injury
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bear — the animal
  5. kick — in football
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bear — the animal
  14. spell — a short time
  15. chip — for betting
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. content — the amount
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spell — letters
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. chip — to eat

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