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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. spell — magic
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. content — happy
  7. spell — letters
  8. wake — a trail
  9. clip — to cut
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. clip — a video
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. net — in sport
  14. cell — a phone
  15. content — the amount
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. net — for catching
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fine — high quality
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fine — all right
  24. net — after costs

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