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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bark — to shout
  3. track — to keep track
  4. pitch — completely
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. drill — the tool
  10. track — a path
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spell — letters
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. content — the amount
  19. swing — in golf
  20. track — a song
  21. drill — army training
  22. content — happy
  23. drill — a practice
  24. spell — magic

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