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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. content — happy
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bank — for money
  5. mate — to breed
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mate — a partner
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bank — of a river
  11. tube — the underground
  12. track — a path
  13. content — the amount
  14. track — to keep track
  15. mate — a friend
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. spell — a short time
  18. degree — temperature
  19. track — a song
  20. spell — letters
  21. degree — an amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bank — for money
  24. tube — a container

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