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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. row — a line
  3. ground — the earth
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bear — the animal
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. drill — the tool
  9. swing — music
  10. drill — army training
  11. wake — a trail
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. swing — in golf
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — letters
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bear — the animal
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. ground — a position
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. drill — a practice

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