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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. craft — boats
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. cell — a phone
  9. sharp — clever
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. last — to go on
  19. foot — a measure
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. last — finally
  23. last — final
  24. craft — a skill

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