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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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468
Word bank
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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — a short time
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. spell — magic
  5. swing — in golf
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. lean — thin
  8. swing — music
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. content — the amount
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. tube — the underground
  17. band — a music group
  18. content — happy
  19. tube — a container
  20. lean — to bend
  21. swing — to play on
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. clip — a video

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