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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. spell — magic
  3. root — of a word
  4. suit — to fit
  5. last — finally
  6. bound — certain
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pop — music
  9. swing — music
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. root — the cause
  13. last — final
  14. root — of a plant
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. swing — to play on
  17. spell — letters
  18. last — to go on
  19. bound — obliged
  20. suit — clothes
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — soda
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bound — tied together

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