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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. field — farmland
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chair — a leader
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. field — for sport
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rock — music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. content — the amount
  18. rock — a stone
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. tear — from crying
  24. field — a subject

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