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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. net — in sport
  4. lean — to bend
  5. clip — for paper
  6. spell — letters
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bound — obliged
  10. net — for catching
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. spell — magic
  14. bound — certain
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bound — tied together
  17. ball — a great time
  18. net — after costs
  19. clip — a video
  20. content — happy
  21. ball — a dance
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. lean — thin
  24. content — the amount

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