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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · spell · content · craft · land · spring

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. craft — boats
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. spring — of water
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. craft — a skill
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. land — a country
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time

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