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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · cell · tear · march · content · spell

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. march — the month
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. club — a group
  9. cell — in biology
  10. content — happy
  11. tear — from crying
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. tear — from crying
  14. club — for dancing
  15. content — the amount
  16. club — for golf
  17. cell — a phone
  18. tear — to rip

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