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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. tear — to rip
  3. content — happy
  4. spell — letters
  5. last — finally
  6. content — the amount
  7. last — final
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bank — for money
  11. spell — a short time
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. bank — of a river
  14. swing — to play on
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — music
  17. bank — for money
  18. last — to go on
  19. spell — magic
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — after costs
  24. swing — in golf

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