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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: cell · straw · content · spell · cap · wind

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. content — happy
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spell — letters
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cell — in biology
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spell — magic
  18. wind — to turn a key

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