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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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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. spell — magic
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. content — happy
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. scale — in music
  8. bound — certain
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bound — obliged
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bound — tied together
  14. scale — size or range
  15. content — the amount
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. spell — letters
  22. shower — rain
  23. lie — to recline
  24. scale — for weighing

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